The Seahawks earned a big win last weekend, beating the 49ers on the road to keep themselves in in the thick of a close NFC West race, and up next is another game against a division opponent, the first-place Arizona Cardinals, who have won four straight games on their way to a 6-4 record.

As Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald put it earlier this week, the Seahawks are approaching this game, and really the rest of their remaining seven games, with a "playoff mindset,” knowing that that there isn't much margin for error in such a closely contested division.

Here are five things to watch when the Seahawks host the Cardinals on Sunday at Lumen Field:

1. Do the Seahawks once again respond well to some midweek adversity?

The Seahawks' week started off normally enough, with the usual early-week recovery and meetings following a Week 11 win over the 49ers. But thanks to the storm that hit the Puget Sound region on Tuesday evening, the Seahawks have had to deal with some unusual circumstances as the Virginia Mason Athletic Center, like much of the Eastside, was without power.

Limited power in the building—there were generators providing some essentials—meant a few inconveniences this week, from a darkened locker room to a lack of hot water to limited food options, but the Seahawks know they can't use any of that as an excuse for not being prepared come Sunday.

"It's just a little bit colder in the indoor (practice facility)," quarterback Geno Smith said. "But for the most part the prep has been great. Guys without power at home, it's going to hinder some things, but guys have been doing a great job of studying, and it allows you to spend extra hours at the facility if you don't have power at home, we've got power here, so you can spend extra hours here just studying.

"We're not going to use it as an excuse. There's a lot of people without power, and we're just blessed to be able to come to work and still do our jobs."

And while the situation is different, this is the second straight week that the Seahawks are dealing with unexpected circumstances while getting ready for a game. Last week coming out of the bye, the Seahawks made an unexpected decision to waive starting linebacker Tyrel Dodson and replace him in the lineup with rookie Tyrice Knight. Then a couple of days later, center Connor Williams surprised teammates by deciding to retire. Despite those potentially big distractions, the Seahawks earned arguably the most impressive win of the season, beating the 49ers on the road. Now they'll hope to prove resilient once again after a week that was anything but business as usual.

"Our guys, they are steadfast, man," Macdonald said Monday, referring to last week, though he could have just as easily been addressing this week's issues. "I'm just really proud of our mentality, the leaders in our locker room. Even the young guys, just showing up to work, handling their business, sticking together. And the leaders understanding like, hey, we've got a lot of good stuff of a foundation that we're building here, and having faith in the process, seeing stuff happen on the practice field, understanding the things going on in the meetings, all the conversations and stuff. So I'm just really proud of our mentality that we've had. We've shown this mentality throughout the course of the season, face some adversity, and it's just great to get some returns on all of the work that we're putting in."

2. Can the defense continue to show progress while facing a dangerous Cardinals offense?

Prior to their bye week, the Seahawks appeared to have made some progress on defense, playing well against the Rams despite an overtime loss. Two weeks later, Seattle's defense showed that improvement wasn't a fluke, limiting the 49ers to 277 total yards and 17 points. And most notably last week, the Seahawks allowed just one play of 20 or more yards, a 22-yards reception.

"I just think when you limit explosives, it really comes to execution, like the ability to execute, the ability communicate and understand what they're trying to attack," Durde said. "Taking away the deeper throw, you're making a play, you're covering someone else. Those are the areas, like tackles, those things create explosives when you miss those things. Last week we didn't and we played clean and it helped us a lot. Especially because what happens is suddenly you put yourselves in good third down situations."

The Seahawks like the direction their defense has been heading in recent weeks, but they also know it won't be easy to maintain that level of play when facing a dangerous Cardinals offense led by quarterback Kyler Murray, who is playing the best football of his career.

"They are being really efficient," Durde said. "At times they remind me when those (coaches) were at Philly. The way they stay in front of the sticks, get themselves manageable third downs, and they get in situations where they can run or pass on third down. Kyler Murray can use his legs. They're doing a great job with. They play the right way."

In addition to Murray, the Seahawks need to contend with the likes of running back James Conner, who has 697 yards and five touchdowns through 10 games, tight end Trey McBride, who leads the team in receptions (42) and receiving yards (552), and rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who is second to McBride in receiving and who has a team-high six touchdown receptions.

"I think there's just like a synergy to it on how they're playing and how efficient Kyler's playing, he's playing decisive," Macdonald said. "They do a great job. It's a different operation than we've seen. It's a ton of gap scheme, a ton of pullers. They do a great job protecting the football. And then if all else doesn't go to plan, then Kyler's one of the best in the business at extending plays and kind of making you pay late in the down too. The easy answer would be to say that the run game kind of starts it, but they kind of have all the things going. All the play actions, the movements, the screens, it kind of all works together. So, they got a great system and they're executing at a high level right now."

3. Does Jaxon Smith-Njigba continue his hot streak, and can the Seahawks contain JSN's former Ohio State teammate, Marvin Harrison Jr.?

With DK Metcalf sidelined by a knee injury in Week 9, second-year receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba put together the best game of his young career, catching seven passes for 180 yards and a pair of touchdowns. A week later, Metcalf was back, but Smith-Njigba continued to be one of Smith's favorite targets, catching 10 passes for 110 yards, including four catches on Seattle's game-winning drive. That two games stretch of 290 receiving yards has only been bettered twice in franchise history, both times by Steve Largent.

"I think you see he's winning different ways which speaks to him as a player," Macdonald said. "He's winning in certain man (coverage) situations where the route's running away from guys, and he's winning one-on-one battles and then in the zone (coverage) stuff. I think it speaks to the design and feel of where the defenders are, Geno knowing where to go with the ball, getting through his progressions, and having time to get through the progression. And then like we said after the game, there are some cool extended play moments where you can feel him and Geno are on the same page. That'll get you a couple of sneaky catches by the end of the game too. It's kind of all the things right now, which is exciting."

And on Sunday, Smith-Njigba will not be the only former Ohio State receiver and first-round pick on the field, as the Cardinals feature Marvin Harrison Jr., the fourth-overall pick in this year's draft and a former teammate of Smith-Njigba's. For Smith-Njigba, it's no surprise that his former teammate is enjoying a strong rookie campaign, because it's something he has been expecting since not long after Harrison began his college career.

"Late his freshman year, he really just stood out," Smith-Njigba said. "You could just see the growth, and kind of who he's becoming. Of course he's passed a lot of people's expectations, but I knew he was going to be elite late in his freshman year… Work ethic, his route-running ability. I've never really seen a guy run routes like he does."

4. If safety Rayshawn Jenkins returns, how do the Seahawks handle the "good problems" that creates in the secondary?

When the Seahawks put Rayshawn Jenkins on injured reserve with a hand injury, it could have been a big blow to Seattle's defense, which was suddenly down a starting safety. In Jenkins' absence, however, Coby Bryant has thrived, playing at a level that is consistently earning praise from teammates and coaches, while also being a part of a recent turnaround for the defense.

"I think Coby is a dog, the way he approaches the game," Durde said. "I think his third level coming out of the breaks and making those tackles has really improved. I've seen it on his tape. We have the ability to play, we call it redline to redline where he can come out of the post and make those plays near the sideline. I'm excited for him. He's doing a good job and he keeps improving. Communication is getting much better."

Jenkins returned to practice this week and Macdonald said there's a good chance the veteran safety is ready to play this weekend, but while having more talent and depth is always a positive for a coaching staff, the recent success of Bryant will give Macdonald and company some tough decisions to make. With K'Von Wallace on injured reserve, there is room for Bryant and Jenkins to both play significant snaps, but it will be interesting to see which of the two is the every-down safety alongside Julian Love, and which one comes on for three-safety looks.

"We're getting some depth back," Macdonald said. "We're missing K'Von right now, but Ty (Okada) being able to step up, getting Rayshawn back probably this week, I mean it's just good problems to have. Good players, that play multiple spots. You don't want to get too cute with it because then you get kind of in disarray a little bit. So, trying to maximize our continuity back there as well as seamlessly getting Rayshawn back into the fold. So yeah, it's exciting."

5. Can the Seahawks get back to winning at home?

The Seahawks are off to a strong start on the road this season, winning three of four away from home, including last weekend's win in Santa Clara. The flip side of that, however, has been that the Seahawks have not been able to win consistently at home. After opening the season with home wins over Denver in Week 1, then over Miami in Week 3, the Seahawks have since lost four straight home games. And if the Seahawks are going to stay in contention down the stretch, they know they need to get back to being a dominant team at home like the Seahawks were for much of the previous decade.

"That's the most important thing," Macdonald said. "I think we're at the stretch now where we're going to have some really meaningful games at home. When I think about Seattle and I think about the fanbase, the 12s, and all the meaningful games that they've had and just how they've affected those games with the noise and all the energy they brought. So, these games are going to be so electric. I can't wait be in the stadium on Sunday. It's going to be so fun. We're looking forward to the fans being there and just going crazy. "

Added Smith, "To me, it's incredibly important. You start ranking things about what we're trying to achieve here, and that's at or near the top of the list. So, I know we're on a slide here at home, and we're trying to do a couple of things to make it come to life. We're treating this like a home playoff game for us. We need the 12s rocking, and you're right, that's the vision. That's what we're trying to create. Let's get it started this Sunday."