ARIZONA CARDINALS

Arizona vs. Seattle: Underdog Cardinals have chance to earn desired respect

Dec 20, 2014, 10:03 PM | Updated: 10:03 pm

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TEMPE, Ariz. — That the Arizona Cardinals are underdogs heading into Sunday night’s matchup with the Seattle Seahawks is not too much of a surprise, especially given Arizona’s tenuous quarterback situation and the fact that when the teams played nearly one month ago, Seattle came out on top.

But that the ‘Hawks are favored to win by more than a touchdown over a team that has 11 wins and is undefeated at University of Phoenix Stadium?

“I never would have known that if you wouldn’t have told me,” cornerback Jerraud Powers said, before adding no one is too concerned with what the oddsmakers have to say anyway.

Or even all that offended.

“They won the Super Bowl last year, and they’ve still got most of their team together,” linebacker Kevin Minter said. “So we’re going to be the underdogs. But it is what it is. We’ve just got to come in on Sunday and execute well, play our games.”

“I would’ve anticipated being an underdog with the Super Bowl champs coming back in here,” head coach Bruce Arians said. “They’re healthy — they’ve got everybody ready to roll and they’re playing extremely well right now. Yeah, I would think that we would be an underdog in the betting lines. We don’t play betting lines; we play football games, and I like our chances.”

Indeed, if wins and losses were decided by gamblers, and not the teams on the field, the Cardinals would be in rough shape. But somehow, some way, Arizona has managed to withstand more than its fair share of injuries en route to a Week 16 matchup that, if they win, will secure the top seed in the NFC along with a first-round bye and homefield advantage throughout the entire postseason.

While the team’s continued success may be a bit of a surprise, it is in no way an accident.

Arizona enters the game ranked sixth in the NFL against the run while surrendering the third-fewest points per game and boasting a turnover margin of plus-12, which is the second-best total in the NFL.

Sometimes football is a simple game, and teams that don’t allow points and win the turnover battle tend to emerge victorious more often than not.

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