If there’s one thing Pete Carroll knows how to do, it’s getting his team to peak at the right time. Every year that he’s been in Seattle it seems, the Seahawks play their best football late in the year, and continue their solid play into the playoffs.

Some say that Arizona didn’t have much to play for, though even if your playoff spot is wrapped up, Week 17 you are playing for momentum – and Arizona was in fact playing for a shot at a no. 1 seed. Week 17 is about heading into the second season strong and on a high note. It speaks volumes about which team is better prepared for a playoff run.

After the game Arizona coach Bruce Arians went as far as to say that his guys may have “paid too much attention to their press clippings.” Couple their own coach’s analysis with the product they put out on the field Sunday, and you see how inexperience is affecting this team. Once thought to be the favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, people aren’t too sure about the Cardinals anymore.

This was a must win for the Seahawks, they haven’t put out good showings against playoff bound teams this season. Despite their showing against the Rams, they showed today why they should be among the Super Bowl favorites. These Seahawks can win on the road, as evidenced by their win in Glendale and in Minneapolis last month. And of course, the Rams aren’t in the playoffs, who seem to be the only team that can beat the Hawks.

On Sunday, there was a difference in intensity, and it should scare the NFC playoff field. And all of a sudden, Russell Wilson can no longer be categorized as a game manager! He set the team record for touchdown passes, and became the first Seahawks to throw for over 4,000 yards in a season. Not only that, but he became the first NFL player to throw for over 4,000 yards, 30 touchdowns and rush for at least 500 yards.

This Seahawk offense has caught up with the defense. A defense who, set a record of their own by leading the league in scoring defense for the fourth year in a row. That should scare anyone set to play Seattle. Plus Marshawn Lynch is back in the building, and even if he’s not the Lynch we have come to know and love, the fact you have to game plan for him and the best quarterback in the league right now, is a daunting task for the Vikings.

This week Lynch’s progress will be the focus of the entire league, and unfortunately Minnesota is faced with the potential task of stopping this two-headed monster.

Follow me on twitter: @jschario

Photo: Flickr/Keith Allison