by Russell Wilson and the Seahawks travel to Arizona to take on Kyler Murray and the Cardinals tonight on Sunday Night Football. It’s an NFC West showdown, and a matchup of two electric QB’s.
Week 7 Prime Time Picks: Seahawks (-3.5) vs Cardinals (+163) O/U 54 – All lines via DraftKings
Prime Time Picks: 7-5
Division Foes
Seattle enters this prime time matchup at 5-0, a record they have reached for the first time in franchise history. They are coming off a bye week, whereas the Cardinals last played on Monday night, where they absolutely dismantled the Cowboys. Arizona comes in at 4-2, right on the heels of Seattle in the highly competitive NFC West.
Seattle Passing Offense
Seattle currently boasts one of the best passing games in the league. They average 280.4 yards per game through the air, good for 4th in the league. This leads to a lot of points and big plays. Seattle averages 33.8 points per game, which is the best in the league. WR D.K. Metcalf is proving to be one of the best receivers in the game, and poses a serious downfield threat. The Cardinals do not have a great passing defense, as they have allowed over 200 yards to opposing QB’s in every game this season when they weren’t playing the Jets. Expect Wilson and Metcalf to connect for some plays downfield.
Strong Off the Bye
Historically, the Seahawks have played well in games following a bye week, covering the spread in their last three. They have also been great on the road lately, as Pete Carroll’s club is 11-3-1 ATS in their last 15 games away from home. They will look to continue this road success tonight.
High-Flying Birds
Both offenses know how to put up points. As previously mentioned, the Seahawks lead the league in points per game, but the Cardinals offense isn’t too far behind. Arizona averages 27.7 points per game, and they are 5th in total yards per game with 402.5. Kyler Murray has been solid through the air, completing 65.9% of his passes with 10 TD’s. He is especially dangerous with his legs, as he leads the league in yards per carry at 7.3. He has found the end zone six times on the ground, and will try to bring that electric dual-threat attack to the forefront tonight.
Get Kenyan Drake Going
After a slow start to the season, RB Kenyan Drake exploded last week against the Cowboys. Through the first five games, Drake had only found the end zone twice, and didn’t reach 100 yards in a game. Against Dallas, he ran for 164 yards and two touchdowns. Drake will need to be effective if the Cardinals want to hand Seattle their first loss, and with a Seahawks rushing defense that is 7th in the league, it may be a tough assignment.
PREDICTION
Willson and the Seahawks may be 5-0, but they have won only one game by more than 8 points, which was against the 1-5 Falcons in Week 1. Seattle survived New England on the last play of the game, and went down to the wire with a Minnesota team that is 1-5 and just got destroyed by Atlanta. Both of those games were in Seattle, too. Russell Wilson has been playing extremely well, but the Seahawks defense is a liability. They give up a ton of yards (471.2/game, dead last in the league), and are 29th in yards per play surrendered (6.2). Kyler Murray should be salivating at those numbers. The Cardinals offense is very dynamic, as Drake is a running threat, Murray is a running and throwing threat, and DeAndre Hopkins is a deep threat. I like the pieces they have in place, and I think their offense finds a lot of success against a Seattle defense that has been getting exploited, especially through the air, by offenses that are not as threatening as Arizona’s. Seattle does have the advantage of coming off of a bye, but the Cardinals are coming off two blowout wins, beating the Jets 30-10, and the Cowboys 38-10. Sure both of those teams are not exactly great, but momentum is momentum, especially for a young quarterback. Both of those games were on the road, and now they host undefeated division rival Seattle in a nationally-televised game. I like the Cardinals +3.5.
Cardinals +3.5
Title Photo: Rob Schumacher / The Republic
Stadium Times 
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