When: 8:30 p.m. ET, Sunday. Where: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz. TV: NBC.

If there's a game to get hyped about this week, it's Sunday night in Arizona.

The NFC West is on the line.

The No. 1 seed in the NFC is at stake.

And the Arizona Cardinals' chance of playing at home throughout the NFC playoffs is at risk.

The de facto NFC West championship game has implications beyond the division, but the Cardinals will play their third-string quarterback, Ryan Lindley, against a defense that’s getting better by the week. The Seattle Seahawks have allowed 27 points in their past four games. By comparison, the Cardinals have scored two touchdowns during that span.

ESPN NFL Nation reporters Josh Weinfuss, who covers the Cardinals, and Terry Blount, who covers the Seahawks, discuss this week’s Sunday night game.

Blount: A few weeks ago, I asked you whether the Cardinals could win in the playoffs with Drew Stanton as the quarterback. Things have gotten a little tougher since then. So the question now is: Can they win in the playoffs with a third-string quarterback?

Weinfuss: I really don’t think so. Arizona had a hard enough time scoring with Stanton -- two touchdowns in its past four games -- so I don’t see that changing with Ryan Lindley under center. Bruce Arians says the Cardinals won’t tone the offense down for Lindley, but I think they need to, especially long passes. With all that being said, after Lindley came in for Stanton on Thursday night in St. Louis, the Cardinals’ defense held tough and didn’t allow the Rams to score a touchdown. If the Cards do get a win in the postseason, it’ll be because of the defense, not because of their offense.

The Seahawks have won seven of their past eight and seem to be peaking at the right time. How much can that momentum carry them through such a big game like this one?

Blount: Josh, let me put it this way: At no time last year during the Super Bowl run did I see the team on such a high as it is now. It has been an amazing roll after starting out 3-3 and weathering all the fallout from the surprise of the Percy Harvin trade. But all they talk about now is how they are playing for each other and trusting each other. They’ve sort of taken an us-against-the-world attitude that has awakened that special emotional connection that took them all the way last season.

Bruce Arians has done a remarkable job this season, leading Arizona to an 11-3 record despite all the injuries the team has suffered. Is he the NFL Coach of the Year no matter what happens the rest of the way?

Weinfuss: Without. A. Doubt. Just look at what he has done: He's taken a team that has lost eight players to injured reserve (including five starters and two significant backups) and had 18 players injured overall (12 starters), who have missed a combined 90 games, and still coached them to an 11-3 record, first place in the NFC West and the No. 1 seed in the NFC with two games left. It’s the type of stuff that Disney movies are made out of. And after all that, the Cardinals are still in the playoffs. It’s downright impressive, worthy of Coach of the Year.

With Arizona starting Lindley, the game plan won’t be cut and dry, especially with a mastermind like Arians having 10 days to prepare for the Seahawks. We know they’re very good against the run and the pass, but where is Seattle’s liability?

Blount: I honestly don’t think they have one on defense. Arizona might be able to exploit second-year cornerback Tharold Simon if they line up Larry Fitzgerald against him when Seattle is in the nickel, but Simon is a really talented kid who gets better every week and is making fewer mistakes. The best chance for the Cardinals' offense is to show the Seahawks something they haven’t seen from them in the past. And maybe that’s where Logan Thomas can help on a few offensive plays as the more athletic quarterback. More than likely, Arizona will need to get an edge with a big play on special teams or a defensive score, because Seattle's defense is a juggernaut right now.

Josh, the Cardinals enter this game with the better record and are playing at home, where they are 7-0 this season. But it seems few people believe they have much of a chance against the surging Seahawks. What’s your sense of how the players feel? Is it a bit of a rallying point for them or do they seem to have doubts creeping in with the QB situation?

Weinfuss: If they have any doubts, they’re surely not saying anything about them in public. But after talking to a few players this week, I know this team is tired of being disrespected nationally -- especially in Vegas. And that starts at the top. After Thursday night’s win over St. Louis, Arians let off a little steam by saying: “I love it when nobody says you’re going to have a chance to win. I mean there’s an 11-3 team and a team that’s always 8-8. You figure it out.” You can sense Arians is getting tired of the lack of respect, but I think that goes away to a point with a win Sunday night.

Seattle is the No. 1 run team in the NFL and the Cardinals have a penchant for developing schemes to slow down the league’s top runners. At the same time, we’ve seen over the past two years how the Cardinals’ defense can slow down Russell Wilson with blitzes and pressure. How does Seattle counter Arizona’s defensive pressure with its running game Sunday night?

Blount: They have to do what they did in the second half last weekend against the 49ers, and that’s pound the ball inside with Marshawn Lynch and not give up on it if Arizona makes a few big stops. They also need to get a few throws to Lynch on screens or out in the flat. One of Seattle’s best plays is Wilson running to the right, then looking back to the left and throwing it to Lynch slipping out of the backfield. But they also have to keep Arizona's defense honest by chucking it deep a few times when the Cardinals blitz, which they did against the 49ers. The bottom line is it's mano a mano, with Seattle giving it to the Beast and saying, “Prove you can stop him.”