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For Earl Thomas and the Seattle Seahawks, the time for a playoff push is now. With six regular season contests remaining – five of which come against divisional foes – every game on the schedule is crucial for the Seahawks (6-4), who sit second in the NFC West.

Sunday, Seattle will welcome the NFC West-leading Arizona Cardinals to CenturyLink Field for the first of two key matchups between the divisional foes. The Cardinals own the NFL’s best record at 9-1 and are in the midst of a six-game winning streak while the Seahawks will be looking to bounce back after a tough road loss to Kansas City.

Despite Arizona’s superior record, the Seahawks are a 6.5 point favorite in Sunday’s contest.

“Going up there, everybody is usually an underdog,” Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians said. “We don’t really need any more extra motivation to go play them, especially at their place. They’re the world champions. We’re just 9-1, we haven’t done (expletive).”

SEATTLE OUT FOR REVENGE

The last time these two teams met at CenturyLink Field, Dec. 22, 2013, the Cardinals shocked the Seahawks, downing the eventual Super Bowl Champions 17-10 and snapping Seattle’s 14-game home winning streak.

Seattle picked off Carson Palmer four times throughout the contest, but the Seahawks offense struggled and failed to capitalize on opportunities to put the game away.

Not long after Seattle took a 10-9 lead in the fourth quarter, Palmer connected with Michael Floyd on a 31-yard touchdown pass with a little over two minutes remaining in the game to earn the victory and keep Arizona’s playoff hopes alive.

For his part, Earl had nine key tackles.

INJURY REPORT

The Seahawks’ struggles to stay healthy continued this week, as more players were added to the injury report.

Most notably, center Max Unger has been ruled out for 4-6 weeks due to an injury he suffered against Kansas City. Meanwhile, nose tackle Brandon Mebane is doubtful for the rest of the 2014 campaign due to a torn hamstring.

In response to these injuries, the team signed center Lemuel Jeanpierre and defensive tackle Travian Robertson.

On the defensive side of the ball, cornerback Marcus Burley and linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis did not participate in practice Wednesday or Thursday and their status for this weekend remains uncertain.

Linebacker Bobby Wagner was a full-participant in Thursday’s practice and should be ready to go on Sunday. Wagner has missed Seattle’s past five games due to turf toe.

“He’s the quarterback of the defense in some sense and we definitely need him because he’s an athlete,” Earl said about Wagner. “He allows us to be more not one-dimensional as far as the play call. Just good to get him back, to hear his voice. And he’s an athlete, man. He makes a big impact, especially with me trying to make all those tackles. He’ll take some of that load off of me.”

The Cardinals have also dealt with their fair share of injuries throughout the 2014 campaign.

Quarterback Carson Palmer, who had already missed three games due to a nerve issue in his shoulder, tore his ACL against the St. Louis Rams on Nov. 9, ending his season.

Arizona is also playing without the services of defensive tackle Darnell Dockett and linebacker John Abraham and suspended linebacker Daryl Washington.

Larry Fitzgerald, one of the NFL’s top wide receivers, sprained his MCL last week and has been limited in practice.

Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said Fitzgerald is “iffy” for Sunday’s game and Fitzgerald told the media this week that he hopes he’ll be ready to go.

SCOUTING THE CARDS

Before his ACL injury in Week 10, Palmer stood near the top of the league in quarterback rating, passing touchdowns and passing yards per game.

However, backup quarterback Drew Stanton has proven to be a more than capable replacement. Stanton has started four games in place of Palmer and has looked sharper in each contest. The team is 3-1 under his direction.

In last week’s 14-6 win over the Detroit Lions, Stanton threw for over 300 yards for the first time in his career. On the game’s opening drive, he hit Michael Floyd deep for an impressive 42-yard touchdown reception. Stanton also had two interceptions in the loss, which allowed the Lions to stay in the game.

Stanton has a loaded arsenal of receivers from which to target. Against Detroit, six Cardinals had receptions of 20 or more yards, which has not happened since 1963.

“They seem to have a really good sense for getting the ball out,” Carroll said. “They know where they want to go with it. The quarterbacks aren’t looking around. Carson [Palmer] was the same way. They’re very well coached. They know where they want to go and their guys are good enough at getting open. They are really open when they need them and the ball’s out on rhythm. They’re not running around with it. They’re not scrambling and sitting in the pocket with the football at all. Even though they do work the ball down field so they take some deep drops and all but it’s coming out on time and on rhythm.”

Fitzgerald is one of the most explosive receivers in league history, and surpassed 12,000 career receiving yards against the Lions. He has recorded a catch in 159 straight games and is Arizona’s top receiver with 658 yards on the year.

In total, four Cardinals have already earned more than 350 receiving yards. John Brown is next on the team in receiving yards with 468 and is coming off a 69-yard performance against the Lions. His five receiving touchdowns are tops on the Cardinals.

Michael Floyd has accumulated 454 yards, and is tied for sixth in the league in yards per reception with 17.5.

Running back Andre Ellington has given opposing teams fits both on the ground and in the air, as he is fourth in the NFL in touches with 227 and has accumulated 356 receiving yards to go along with 624 rushing yards.

On special teams, Ted Ginn is one of the NFL’s best punt returners and averages 10.6 yards per return.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: DREW STANTON

In prepping for his first visit to Seattle as a starting quarterback, Stanton praised the overall strength of the Seahawks’ defensive unit.

“We have to be aware of what we’re doing with the football,” Stanton said. “The one thing that’s unique about this defense is you might be going to the right place, you might find the right read, but the guy’s covered. So you have to be smart with the ball then, too, and maybe get rid of it or try to scramble or find a different guy and get to your second read.”

Stanton went on to explain how this depth forces quarterbacks to make fast decisions.

“I think just how fast they are and how quickly they react in the secondary,” Stanton said. “They’re an attacking defense, but you see at every position they’re getting up the field – the D-Line, the D-Ends, those backers are good players. You have to be really aware of where you want to go with the ball and the ball has to come out quickly.”

WILSON READY FOR CHALLENGE

Simply put, if the Seahawks want to have a fighting chance at defending their Super Bowl title, they will need more production from Russell Wilson to aid the offense and keep ET III and the defense rested and off the field.

Wilson is completing the lowest percentage of passes of his career and has not thrown for over 200 yards since a Week 7 loss to the Rams.

“I don’t think there’s a huge issue,” Wilson said about his struggles. “I just think we’ve had a few games in the passing game where we could have been a little bit better. And like I said, it’s just on me. I don’t think there’s any issue. I don’t think defenses are doing anything different. I think that defenses are paying a little bit more attention to me in terms of putting an extra guy down there or whatever [in defending against the run]. But that’s a good opportunity for us in the passing game.”

Arizona is third in the NFL in scoring defense, having only given up 176 points on the season. The team is particularly effective against the run, limiting opponents to 80.5 yards per game. Arizona allowed just one team to rush for more than 100 yards on the season and the team has yet to allow a single opposing player to reach the 100-yard mark in 20-straight games.

The Cardinals’ stout run defense, coupled with Lynch’s injuries, indicates that Wilson will have to step up to the challenge.

ALL ON THE LINE

For Earl and the Seahawks, the importance of Sunday’s game cannot be overstated. A win would give the team a much-needed confidence boost, while a loss would put the team’s post-season aspirations further in doubt.

The team’s last stretch of regular season games presents a great opportunity for the Seahawks to control of their own playoff picture, and now it is up to them to make the most of it.

Kickoff is set for 4:05 p.m. EST, and the game can be viewed on FOX.