The NFL schedule in Week 7 gets started early with the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals, as the two teams will be playing on Thursday night football in a game that will be airing on the NFL Network starting up at 8:25 pm for the NFC West divisional battle.
The Seahawks come into the game as one of the best teams in the NFC and the division has turned into one of the strongest in the league, as all four teams in the division are currently over .500 and the Cardinals come into the game at 3-3, while the Seahawks have been one of the best in the conference at 5-1 and they look like one of the favorites to make it to the Super Bowl this season. The team is hoping to get back Percy Harvin at some point this season and while he is eligible to play starting Week 7, it likely will be another few weeks at least before he can play. The Seahawks are already looked at as a Super Bowl contender heading into the season and adding Harvin to that mix should made them a very strong favorite.
Check here for the Thursday night football coverage of the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals matchup from Week 7.
Russell Wilson is having himself another solid season and the defense may end up getting a boost in the game on Thursday night, as Pete Carroll said earlier in the week that injured defensive end Chris Clemons may get the chance to play against the Cardinals after returning to practice with the team after being injured in the game against Tennessee. ESPN.com reports that Clemons suffered an elbow injury in the win over the titans and that even though it's a short week due to the Thursday game, he still could possibly play against Arizona.
Click here for the NFL Thursday Night Football streaming matchup or for details on Week 7.
Clemons is one of a number of injured players for the Seahawks and he is officially listed on the sheet as questionable for the game, while running back Marshawn Lynch should be fine to play after missing practice, as he was held out since it is a short week coming into Thursday after the Sunday game. Zach Miller should be making a comeback to the starting lineup as well for the Seahawks, but they will once again be without linebacker Bobby Wagner, who missed last week's game against the Titans as well.
Lynch has been one of the most consistent and productive running backs in football this season and it would have been a very tough loss had he not been able to play on Thursday. The team decided to play it cautious with him in practice this week and many coaches like to do that when their squad is playing the Thursday game, because it is usually an abbreviated week. Lynch's injury is not considered serious and he ranks in the top five in a number of categories already this season, as he is second in the league in touchdowns, fifth in rushing yards per game and third in rushing yards overall.
The Seahawks come into the game playing well at night under Carroll, as ESPN.com points out, the team has only lost one game over the past few years at night, losing the only matchup in a Thursday night game against the San Francisco 49ers. The team comes into the game averaging over 20 points in those games and following this matchup, the Seahawks will face three of five games on the road, including a Monday night game against the Rams and a matchup with the Falcons that is a playoffs rematch.