Seahawks vs. Cardinals Odds
The Seattle Seahawks will be fine over the long run, but they have too many issues they need to fix on the short week.
Their defense is on pace to allow the most passing yards of any team in NFL history, surrendering a staggering 353 yards per game. On paper, they should be much better — Jamal Adams has been in and out of the lineup, but he'll be a difference-maker once his conditioning improves and he's able to figure out where he needs to be in the new scheme.
Coordinator Ken Norton will also have 11 days after this Thursday Night Football showdown to get his unit back on track and playing better (than a historically bad defense). But in the meantime, the Seahawks will have their hands full with Kyler Murray and the Cardinals.
Murray destroys zone coverage — he has the third-highest success rate against it in 2020 (per Sports Info Solutions), and guess which defense plays zone at one of the highest rates in the NFL? Yes, the Seahawks. Murray carved up the Seattle defense for 360 passing yards and three touchdowns as well as 14 carries for 67 yards and a rushing touchdown in the Cardinals' 37-34 win over the Seahawks in Week 7.
Usually, the Seahawks can overcome poor defensive play by leaning on Russell Wilson. Unfortunately, that hasn't been true lately — Wilson is in the middle of a funk, having turned the ball over seven times over their past two games, both of which they lost.
Tyler Lockett is also banged up and will be playing at less than 100% on Thursday, which doesn't help their offensive outlook.
And finally, the Cardinals are coming off a thrilling victory over the Bills in which Murray connected with DeAndre Hopkins on a game-winning Hail Mary for arguably the catch of 2020.
Overall, Arizona is getting Seattle at the right time. I like the Cardinals getting +3, though it's worth waiting to see if the line climbs back up to +3.5 before kickoff (shop real-time odds here).
