Seahawks coach Pete Carroll does not believe in resting players at the end of the regular season to keep them healthy for the playoffs.
“I don’t like doing that,” Carroll said today, citing a belief that it messes with a team’s momentum.
Carroll has proven that in the past, playing Russell Wilson and other key players in Week 17 even when the Seahawks are locked into a playoff seed.
The Seahawks don’t have much to play for on Sunday against the Cardinals, as they have clinched a wild card berth but can’t win the division. Still, the difference between being the NFC No. 5 seed and playing at Dallas in the wild card round of the playoffs and being the NFC No. 6 seed and playing at Chicago or the Rams is not nothing. The Cowboys are the more favorable matchup, and the Seahawks will try to win on Sunday and earn a trip to Dallas.