Seattle at Arizona
Time: 3:05 PM CST, FOX
Spread: SEA -5.5
Total: 47.5
Odds c/o 5dimes
The Seattle Seahawks fell to 2-1 last week with a 27-33 loss to the New Orleans Saints. It won Week 1 and 2 over Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. Week 4 sees the Seahawks travel to Arizona to face the Cardinals as 5.5-point favorites at 3 PM on FOX. The over/under is set at 47.5 total points according to NFL Oddsmakers at 5dimes.
SEA
Seattle fell last week to the Saints without Drew Brees. Terry Bridgewater stepped in flawlessly to throw a pair of TD passes, while the Saints also got touchdowns from its special teams and its defense. Russell Wilson threw 32 of 50 for 406 yards and two touchdowns, and Wilson also had both of the Seahawks’ rushing TDs as he gained 51 yards on his seven attempts. Chris Carson rushed for another 52 yards on 15 attempts. Seattle gained 514 total yards of offense while limiting New Orleans to just 265, but the overall result was still an unfortunate loss for Seattle.
Wilson thus far, though, has been superb. The veteran is completing 71.4 percent of his looks on the season and averaging 327.3 yards per game. He has seven TD throws and no picks while having suffered eight sacks. His passer rating of 119.6 speaks for itself. The rush attack has not been as fruitful, but the Seahawks do average nearly four yards-per-carry, and Wilson tops that at 4.8 per. Carson leads the way with his 45 attempts for 158 yards, but he has just one TD rush and Wilson has two of the team’s four. The other goes to Rashaad Penny who has just 16 attempts on the season for a respectable 80 yards.
The Seahawks top-two receiving options Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf both have 277 and 217 yards, respectively, with three TDs between them, but the best end-zone target has been tight end Will Dissly. He has 12 catches for 124 yards, with three TD catches. The Seahawks total seven reception TDs on the season while having scored just four via the rush.
ARI
The winless Arizona Cardinals tied the Detroit Lions in Week 1 before consecutive losses to the Baltimore Ravens and Carolina Panthers. The defense has not been particularly good at all. Arizona is giving up 29.3 points per game while averaging just 21.3 itself.
Kyler Murray has been fair, but not without his struggles as a rookie. He has thrown 61.3 percent for completion while averaging over 300-yards per game, but he has also thrown just four TD passes with three interceptions. More troubling still is that he has already been sacked 16 times (5.3 per game) for a total loss of 99-yards. Murray has, perplexingly, been very good when he has rushed. He has 14 attempts for 86 yards on the season while averaging a team-best 6.1 yards-per-attempt.
David Johnson has not been as effective, with 36 attempts but just 3.7 yards-per-carry, though he has scored the team’s lone rushing touchdown. Larry Fitzgerald has been the timeless wonder he is at wide receiver, but outside of Christian Kirk, he has been somewhat short on help. Fitzgerald has 253 yards to his credit and a pair of touchdowns, but the only other receiving touchdowns come from Johnson who has caught 13 passes out of the backfield for 83-yards. Kirk has 205 yards on 20 catches, but both Fitzgerald and Kirk have been targeted 31 times apiece, which amounts to 24 missed targets between the two top receivers.
Arizona’s execution has not been at its best, while it gave up 38-points last week. It does not exactly bode well, but as Murray continues to mature this season things could get at least somewhat better for the Cards. It could, ultimately, be something of a “long season” in Arizona but Murray is showing sufficient promise to indicate that Arizona is, at least, heading in the right direction.
