The Cardinals have won six of their last eight games as they have been red hot.  The Seahawks are also hot as they have won 5 of their last 7 games.  The winner will finish .500 on the season, so these teams have a little bit to play for.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Cardinals have the ball:  The Cardinals are going to look to be balanced on offense tomorrow.  Beanie Wells will likely get 20-25 carries tomorrow against a Seahawks’ D that is giving up 111.1 yards rushing per game, but only 3.8 yards per carry…so he will have to fight for every yard he gets.  The Cardinals are starting John Skelton at QB again this weekend, but they need him to protect the football.  The Seahawks have a pretty decent secondary, so Skelton is going to have to be careful throwing the ball this weekend.  If the Seahawks gang up on Larry Fitzgerald, Skelton would be smart to throw the ball to Early Doucet, Andre Roberts and Todd Heap more tomorrow.

When the Seahawks have the ball:  The Cardinals’ D is going to have to tighten up their chinstraps as Marshawn Lynch has been a beast so far this year for the Seahawks.  He is a power runner in the purest sense and he’s more than fast enough to get to the corner.  The Cardinals will be blitzing like crazy on passing downs as the Seahawks don’t have any receiver that worries them.  Tarvaris Jackson is little more than a game manager, so he’s not going to beat them with his right arm throwing the ball.

PREDICTION:  CARDINALS 23, SEAHAWKS 20

The Cardinals have placed 27-year old RT Brandon Keith on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a injured right ankle.  Keith played in 13 games (11 starts) for the Cardinals last year.  He has now played in 26 games (20 starts) in his first four years with the Cardinals.  Keith will be replaced in the starting lineup by 31-year old Jeremy Bridges.  Bridges has played in 15 games (4 starts) for the Cardinals so far this year.  Keith didn’t play too well this year, so Bridges might actually be an improvement for the Cardinals.

The Cardinals are sending three players to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii this year.  It all starts with 28-year old WR Larry Fitzgerald.  He has played in 15 games for the Cardinals so far this year and he has caught 71 passes for 1,262 yards (17.8 avg) with 8 TD grabs despite constant double and triple teams by opponents.  32-year old safety Adrian Wilson is also making a return trip to the Pro Bowl.  He has played in 15 games for the Cardinals so far this year and he has 62 tackles, 12 passes defensed, 1 interceptions, 7 tackles for a loss and 1 forced fumble.  21-year old CB/PR Patrick Peterson has made it to the Pro Bowl as a rookie.  He has played in 15 games for the Cardinals so far this year and he has 60 tackles, 13 passes defensed, 1 sack and 2 interceptions.  Peterson made the Pro Bowl based on his punt return abilities, not his defense.  He has returned 40 punts for 636 yards (15.9 avg) with 4 TD returns so far this year.

The Arizona Cardinals played pretty solid football, but they just weren’t good enough to beat the Bengals in Cincy last Saturday.  John Skelton took too many chances as he completed 23 of 44 passes for 297 yards with 2 TD passes and 3 INTs.  Beanie Wells led the way for the Cardinals on the ground in this game with 53 yards rushing on 14 carries (3.8 ypc).  WR Larry Fitzgerald led the way in the air in this game with 6 grabs for 105 yards (17.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  WR Andre Roberts (6 rec, 75 yards) and TE Jeff King (1 rec, 2 yards, TD) also pitched in for the Cardinals.  The Cardinals finished up with 59 yards rushing on 18 carries (3.3 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 44 passes (52.3%) for 257 yards as they had possession of the ball for 28:21.

The defense was didn’t play too well for the Cardinals in this game.  LB Daryl Washington led the way for the Cardinals with 11 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 QB hit led the way for the Cardinals’ D in this game.  DT Darnell Dockett (7 tackles and 2 QB hits), DE Calais Campbell (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 2 passes defensed and 1 QB hit) and safety Adrian Wilson (7 tackles) also had solid games for the Cardinals yesterday.  The Bengals finished up with 165 yards rushing on 34 carries (4.9 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 31 passes (58.1%) for 136 yards in this game.  The Cardinals are now 7-8 on the season.

This is going to be a great football game with two teams that still have playoff aspirations.  The Cardinals have won four games in a row and six of their last 7 games, as they are red hot right now.  The Bengals have lost two games in a row and four of their last six games.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Cardinals have the ball:  The Cardinals are going to be a pass first team against the Bengals.  They are going to have to find a way to give John Skelton time to throw the ball.  If Skelton has time to throw the ball, he should be effective.  WR Larry Fitzgerald is in line to have a good game for the Cardinals tomorrow after getting shut down last weekend by the Browns for the most part.  Early Doucet, Todd Heap and Andre Roberts will be counted on to make the Bengals pay for paying too much attention to Fitzgerald.  Beanie Wells might have a hard time finding running room against a Bengals’ D that is allowing 99.6 yards rushing per game and 3.7 yards per carry.

When the Bengals have the ball:  The Bengals are going to likely be balanced in this game offensively.  The front seven of the Cardinals are going to have to deal with power runner Cedric Benson.  They are also going to have to get after Andy Dalton, because he has nice weapons in the passing game.  The Cardinals will likely double rookie WR A.J. Green (1,006 yards, 7 TDs) as he has a knack for making bit plays down the field.  TE Jermaine Gresham, WR Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell are also very effective for the Bengals.

PREDICTION:  BENGALS 20, CARDINALS 17

The Cleveland Browns made the mistake of punting the ball to Patrick Peterson in O.T.  He returned the ball 32 yards to set up the offense with good starting field position.  John Skelton then hit a wide open Larry Fitzgerald to set up Jay Feely for a game winning 22-yard field goal.  John Skelton was effective yesterday as he completed 28 of 46 passes for 313 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 7 yards (3.5 ypc).  Beanie Wells led the way on the ground for the Cardinals in this game with 51 yards rushing on 15 carries (3.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  TE Todd Heap (7 rec, 69 yards), WR Larry Fitzgerald (3 rec, 65 yards) and WR Andre Roberts (6 rec, 60 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Cardinals today.  The Cardinals finished up with 74 yards rushing on 24 carries (3.1 ypc) and they also completed 28 of 46 passes for 289 yards as they had possession of the ball for 32:42.

The defense really picked things up in the 4th quarter and O.T. period for the Cardinals.  Safety Adrian Wilson (8 tackles and 1 pass defensed), CB Richard Marshall (7 tackles and 1 pass defensed) and LB Paris Lenon (7 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss) led the way for the Cardinals on D in this game. DE Calais Campbell (4 tackles and a fumble recovery) and LB O’Brien Schofield (2 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 QB hit) also made big plays on D for the Cardinals in this game.  The Browns finished up with 120 yards rushing on 29 carries (4.1 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 31 passes (58.1%) for 213 yards in this game.  The Cardinals are now 7-7 on the season and they are back in the playoff hunt.

21-year old CB Patrick Peterson has been a true impact player for the Cardinals on both defense and special teams.  Peterson has played in 13 games for the Cardinals so far this year and he has 57 tackles, 2 interceptions, 11 passes defensed and 1 sack.  He continues to improve on defense after having a rough start to the season.  But, on special teams…..Peterson has been a beast.  He has returned 37 punts for 603 yards (16.3 avg) with 4 TD returns so far this year!  The scary thing for the rest of the NFL is that Peterson is only 21 years old, so he’s likely going to get a lot better in the very near future.

The Arizona Cardinals are rolling right now as they have won three games in a row and five of their last six.  The Browns on the other hand, have lost 3 games in a row and six of their last seven games.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Cardinals have the ball:  The Cardinals are likely going to come out running the ball tomorrow against a Cleveland Browns’ D that is allowing 150.9 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry so far this year.  It looks as if John Skelton is going to start at QB for the Cardinals tomorrow.  The Browns don’t have a good pass rush, but the Cardinals have given up 43 sacks so far this year.  Skelton can afford to be sloppy with the ball tomorrow.  He will still likely force the ball down the field to Larry Fitzgerald, even with CB Joe Haden and a safety likely to be on him.  This situation could set things up for Early Doucet to have a good game.

When the Browns have the ball:  The Browns aren’t really good at anything on offense.  Still, they could be a little more unpredictable with Seneca Wallace starting at QB instead of a injured Colt McCoy.  The Browns will likely come out running the ball tomorrow with Peyton Hillis and Chris Ogbonnaya, but they won’t be able to resist taking on the Cardinals’ secondary in the passing game.  If Wallace has time to throw the ball, he’s going to likely make some plays down the field.  The Browns have no one worth double teaming on the entire roster.

PREDICTION:  CARDINALS 23, BROWNS 20

27-year old QB Kevin Kolb has passed all of his concussion tests and he has returned to practice.  He should be good to go this weekend against the Browns.  Kolb has played in 9 games so far this year and he has completed 146 of 253 passes (57.7%) for 1,955 yards with 9 TD passes and 8 INTs (81.1 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 17 times for 65 yards (3.8 ypc) so far this year.  23-year old John Skelton should make sure that he’s ready to go, just in case.  He has played in 5 games for the Cardinals so far this year and he has completed 78 of 145 passes (53.8%) for 1,032 yards with 7 TD passes and 9 INTs (66.8 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 17 times for 96 yards (5.6 ypc) so far this year.

The Cardinals played a complete game in beating the 49ers yesterday.  Kevin Kolb completed his only pass and it was good for 2 yards before leaving the game with a head injury.  John Skelton replaced him at QB and he played very well.  Skelton completed 19 of 28 passes for 282 yards with 3 TD passes and 2 INTs.  He also carried the ball 6 times for 25 yards (4.2 ypc) in this game.  Beanie Wells had a rough time with only 27 yards rushing on 15 carries (1.8 ypc).  Larry Fitzgerald led the way for the Cardinals yesterday with 7 grabs for 149 yards (21.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  WRs Early Doucet (3 rec, 73 yards, TD) and Andre Roberts (2 rec, 8 yards, TD) also had solid games for the Cardinals yesterday.  The Cardinals finished up with 55 yards rushing on 23 carries (2.4 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 29 passes (69%) for 270 yards as they had possession of the ball for 29:04.

The Cardinals played excellent defense yesterday as they sacked Niners’ QB Alex Smith 5 times.  CBs Richard Marshall (7 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss) and Patrick Peterson (5 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Cardinals on D in this game.  The 49ers finished up with 90 yards rushing on 21 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 37 passes (48.6%) for 143 yards in this game.  The Cardinals are now 6-7 on the season.