Seattle Seahawks (4-1 SU, 2-3 ATS) at Arizona Cardinals (3-3 SU, 3-3 ATS)
NFL Week 7
Date/Time: Sunday, October 23, 2016 8:30PM EST
Where: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ.
TV: NBC
by WILSON, NFL Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread: SEA +1.5/AZ -1.5
Over/Under Total: 43.5
The Seattle Seahawks travel to the desert this weekend to take on their NFC West rival, the Arizona Cardinals. Seattle sits atop the NFC West division and has managed to put together a 4-1 record heading into this contest. The Hawks are breathing a sigh of relief this week after holding off a tough Atlanta Falcons team 26-24 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle last Sunday. The game ended on a controversial pass interference no-call when it was clear Richard Sherman all but tied Julio Joness arm behind his back on a crucial would-be reception that likely would have set up the game winning field goal for Atlanta. Unfortunately for the Falcons the officials somehow missed the call and Seattle dodged a bullet to get the W. Sherman is a great defender but even he knows he got away with an obvious penalty. Despite the no-call on Jones, Seattles defense did what they needed to secure the win. The question is, can the Hawks make it to 5-1 or will the Cards get it done in front of their home crowd? The offshore and Las Vegas sports books are indicating a tight divisional battle as they opened the early line with Arizona -1 and is currently at AZ -1.5 (Westgate Super Book) and AZ -2 at most offshore books.
Offensively, if Arizona repeats their game plan this weekend they should be in a good position to win against a recently banged up Seattle defense. The Hawks D is one of the best in the NFL but with defensive stars Kam Chancellor and Michael Bennett are listed as probable and likely not 100 percent, this may benefit Arizonas offensive game scheme. The Cards RB David Johnson rushed for 111 yards and 3 touchdowns in the 28-3 win against the Jets last week. This will boost Arizonas running attack and confidence within the O-lineespecially since Carson Palmer is nursing a pulled hamstring from Monday nights effort. Carson spread his passing attack among multiple receivers and said his hamstring injury late in the game was probably from being on the field so much coupled with dehydrationthats how good the Cardinals played! Seattles defense is definitely in for a showdown for the second weekend in a row after handling (barely) the high powered Atlanta Falcons offense.
Seattles offense will likely be without TE Luke Wilson who suffered a knee injury in last weeks game. Russell Wilson meanwhile has played through both ankle and knee sprains recently and appears to be ok but it is noticeable he is not totally his normal-dynamic-self (he cannot scramble or run as smoothly), but he is still pretty darn good. The Hawks and Cards will get after it and these games are very hard to cap, but like always it will come down to the play of the quarterbacks. We all know what Wilson is capable of especially with the game on the line. As for Carson Palmer, he can orchestrate solid drives as wellthis will be one of the key factors in the desert this weekendQB matchup. Also, if the Cardinals can take advantage of home field, a banged up Seattle D, and their recharged offensive attack they will likely get the win.
This series is tied 17-17 with the Hawks winning the last matchup (January 3, 2016) 36-6 at the University of Phoenix. Wilson won the last QB matchup versus Palmer but this years first meeting between the two should be a great battle. Carson Palmer is coming off of a decent game where he went 23/34 passing and a touchdown. The Cards had 0 turnovers while they intercepted the Jets QBs twice (Fitzpatrick once & Smith for another). Of course Seattle (4-1) brings an entire higher level of defense than the Jets (1-5) and they will be loitering around for picks and sacks all day. If Palmer is on his game, and the Cards execute a balanced offensive attack I believe Arizona will certainly give the Hawks fits on defense (just like we witnessed last week when Seattles D appeared to be cracking versus Atlanta).
Im taking Arizona to cover the points. Luck to ya.
WILSONs Pick to Cover the Point Spread: Arizona covers the spread.
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