Rookie Max Hall was unrattled in his first career start two weeks ago - against the defending Super Bowl champions no less.
Hall will face an entirely different challenge Sunday as he leads the Arizona Cardinals into Qwest Field – perhaps the loudest venue in the league – to face the Seattle Seahawks in a battle for sole possession of the NFC West division.
An undrafted rookie out of Brigham Young, Hall was thrust into the starting role after Arizona (3-2) was outscored 82-17 in road losses to Atlanta and San Diego.
The former third-stringer was named NFL Rookie of the Week after helping the Cardinals to a 30-20 victory over the New Orleans Saints prior to the team’s bye week. Hall became the first undrafted rookie in 43 years to beat the defending Super Bowl champions.
While his numbers weren’t overly impressive, Hall was able to move the offense and rallied the Cardinals from a 10-0 deficit.
Hall finished 17 of 27 for 168 yards. He threw an interception and fumbled twice – one of which was recovered and advanced by tackle Levi Brown two yards for a touchdown.
All-Pro receiver Larry Fitzgerald benefited the most from the switch from Derek Anderson to Hall. Fitzgerald was off to a slow start with Anderson struggling, but he caught a season-high seven passes for 93 yards against New Orleans.
Arizona, which is averaging a mere 16.7 points per game, will have its full complement of weapons for the first time in a month, as receivers Steve Breaston and Early Doucet return from injury.
Breaston, a big-play receiver that can take pressure off Fitzgerald, has missed the past two games while recovering from knee surgery. Doucet, a possession receiver in the mold of the departed Anquan Boldin, has been out since the opener due to a sports hernia.
The Cardinals have won consecutive NFC West titles fairly easily, but this season they may have some competition.
Seattle (3-2), vastly improved under new head coach Pete Carroll, is coming off an impressive 23-20 victory at Chicago. Matt Hasselbeck threw for a season-high 242 yards and newly acquired Marshawn Lynch ran for 44 yards and a score.
Acquired from Buffalo on Oct. 5, Lynch will be making his home debut against a Cardinals defense that is 29th in the league against the run (140.8 ypg).
If the Cardinals focus too much on the run, they could get burned by Mike Williams, who is coming off a career-best 10-catch, 123-yard effort against Chicago.
The former first-round bust with Detroit appears to have developed a rapport with Hasselbeck. He and Deon Butler have taken on more prominent roles in the offense following the trade of Deion Branch.
Seattle, which won the NFC West four straight years from 2003-07, has lost four straight to Arizona and six of the last seven meetings.