Cardinals Seahawks Betting – Seahawks Flex Muscles In NFC West
Most sports betting players picked the San Francisco 49ers to win the NFC West, but the 49ers have fallen on their face, and now the division is wide open. The top two teams go head-to-head on Sunday in Seattle, where the Seahawks will host Arizona, and they’re going to put on a good show for the hometown fans, who have stood by them in lean years recently.
- What: NFL betting
- When: Sunday, October 24th, 4:05 PM ET
- Where: Qwest Field, Seattle, WA
- Pick: Seattle Seahawks -5.5
What’s On The Line
The Arizona Cardinals (3-2) are somehow hanging on in the NFC West despite being a mess offensively, and they’re hoping that they figured some things out while on their bye week. The Seattle Seahawks (3-2) may be the biggest surprise in the league, and they came away with a 23-20 win at the Chicago Bears last week. If you thought this game would be between the top two teams in the division at this point, put your hand up. That’s what we thought.
Offensive Matchups: Cardinals Seahawks Betting
Arizona is 31st in the league offensively, and their troubles under center have pretty much taken Larry Fitzgerald out of the offense. Fitzgerald is one of the top three receivers in the NFL, but if no one can get the ball to him, what’s the point? Now it looks like rookie Max Hall is going to start this game, but that’s tentative. Injuries to receivers Steve Breaston and Early Doucet aren’t helping Fitzgerald’s plight, and you know they don’t have a running game: they haven’t in years.
The Seahawks were pretty productive against a tough Chicago defense on the road, and Matt Hasselbeck had a very good game, going 25-of-40 for 242 yards and a touchdown. The Seahawks also averaged 3.6 yards on 31 carries, which can only help Hasselbeck. Mike Williams exploded for 123 receiving yards, and he figures to be a larger part of the offense going forward.
Betting Edge: Seahawks
Defensive Matchups: Cardinals Seahawks Betting
NFL betting players have to be scratching their heads: the Cardinals are 31st offensively, and 28th defensively, yet they’re 3-2. They’re equally bad against the run and the pass, although safety Kerry Rhodes has been good since coming over from the Jets. The Cardinals have managed just eight sacks this year, which leaves the secondary in coverage for too long, and any quarterback is going to pick you apart with time. Nonetheless, they show promise: the Cardinals forced four turnovers in a 30-20 upset of New Orleans, and that’s how they’re going to overcome their mediocre defense.
Coach Pete Carroll was known as a defensive genius at USC, but the Seahawks still have some work to do in the pass-coverage department, coming in 30th. They gave up a lot of yards against Jay Cutler, but the Seahawks came through when they had to, stopping the Seahawks on all 12 of their third-down chances. They also sacked Cutler six times, taking advantage of the Bears’ porous offensive line, and they’re only going to get better.
Betting Edge: Seahawks
Notable Injuries: Cardinals Seahawks Betting
Breaston (knee) and Doucet (groin) are still questionable, and that’s not a good look for the Arizona passing game.
Cornerback Kelly Jennings (hamstring) is the lone injury worry for the Seahawks.
Betting Edge: Seahawks
Outlook and Pick: Cardinals Seahawks Betting
The Seahawks are 5.5-point NFL betting favorites at home, where they’ve dropped two straight to the Cardinals. But that’s going to change this week as the Seahawks are going to roll over the Cardinals, who have a lot of problems on both sides of the ball. Not to mention, in each of their road games, the Cardinals have given up 41 points. They may not give up that many this week, but they’ll still give up enough. The Seahawks will also try to blitz Hall into oblivion. Look for the Seahawks to take control of the NFC West with a big online bettingvictory.
Stan’s Pick: Seattle Seahawks
