Seahawks Cardinals Odds
Posted by Jimmy Boyd - Google+
The Seattle Seahawks (7-5) host the Arizona Cardinals (4-8) Sunday at 4:25 PM ET in NFC West division action. Oddsmakers have listed the Seahawks as a 10.5-point favorite and have set the total at 34.5.
Why Seattle Covers
The Cardinals have lost eight in a row since starting the season 4-0. They are just 2-7 against the spread in their last nine games.
Arizona has especially struggled on the road where it has lost five straight.
The Seahawks have been a terrific investment in recent seasons. They have covered the spread in eight of their last 11 games and are on an 18-9 against the spread dating back to last season.
Seattle has especially been good at home where it is 5-0 straight up and against the spread this season. The Seahawks are on an 11-2 against the spread run at home dating back to last season. They are also on a 6-0 against the spread run in home games against division opponents.
The Cardinals won the season’s first meeting 20-16 Sept. 9. 2012. However, Seattle is a perfect 6-0 against the spread in home games the last three seasons when our for revenge for a loss to an opponent.
The home team has had the upper hand in this series lately. In fact, the home side is 3-0 straight up and against the spread in the last three meetings and 5-1 straight up and against the spread in the last six.
Seattle has won each of its last two and seven of its last nine at home against the Cardinals, who are just 2-5 against the spread in their last seven road meetings in the series.
Why Arizona Covers
Oddsmakers may be asking too much of Seattle here considering it has won only two games all season by more than 10 points. The Cardinals have lost just four games by more than 10 points and have shown well in each of their last two road games. They covered the spread against the Atlanta Falcons and the New York Jets while playing them to four-point and one-point games, respectively.
While Arizona is the worst offensive team in the NFL, its top-notch defense has proven it can keep the team in games. The Cardinals rank seventh in the league in both total and scoring defense with 324.7 yards and 19.5 points allowed per contest.
Arizona’s stingy defense has been on display in back-to-back wins against the Seahawks. The Cardinals held Seattle to only 254 yards of offense in the season’s first matchup. Arizona has won eight of the last 12 meetings in the series.
The biggest reason Seattle hasn’t won many games by double digits is because it is not very explosive offensively. It ranks 24th in the league in total offense with 328.6 yards per game and 22nd in scoring with 20.2 points per game.
Seattle likes to run the football and doing so eats a lot of clock while the ball slowly moves down the field. Seattle’s offensive scheme is not conducive to posting very many lopsided wins.
The Seahawks need to come up with turnovers to blow out an opponent and the Cardinals have not been very generous. They have committed more than two turnovers in only one game this season.
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