Week 9 preview: Seahawks vs Cardinals, prediction, odds and injury report
Our pick: Seattle 24, Arizona 13. Why. Not advice.
Seattle is 4-4 after Chicago beat it 34-17 on Monday night, its first loss by more than four points since the start of last season, per the club. Arizona is 3-5 and coming off a 33-30 overtime win at Dallas in which Gardner Minshew II came off the bench, threw three touchdown passes and earned the start in Seattle. Seattle beat the Cardinals 31-7 in Glendale on September 20. Kickoff is Sunday, November 8, at 1:25 p.m. Pacific on FOX at Lumen Field, six days after the Monday game. This is the first look, written the morning after the Bears game; we will update it with the practice reports from Wednesday and the line through the week.
The injury picture
The first practice reports for both teams are due Wednesday, November 4, and the game statuses on Friday. The day-by-day table will be on the injury report.
Seattle. From Monday night, per the club: defensive tackle Leonard Williams left late in the third quarter with a stinger and did not return, and Mike Macdonald said outside linebacker Connor O’Toole came out of the game with a foot injury. “Leo had a stinger, and we’ll see how that shakes out,” Macdonald said. Left tackle Charles Cross (ankle), receiver Rashid Shaheed (knee), running back Velus Jones Jr. (hamstring) and linebacker Uchenna Nwosu (ankle) did not play against Chicago, and Josh Jones started at left tackle. Zach Charbonnet and Jadarian Price both played in their first games back: “To my knowledge, the running backs came out OK,” Macdonald said.
Arizona. From Sunday at Dallas, per the club: running back Jeremiyah Love has a new right ankle injury (“This is new,” Mike LaFleur said. “This is not the left ankle or the right. It’s a new portion of the ankle.”), and running back Bam Knight was checked for a concussion, leaving Tyler Allgeier and Evan Hull as the only healthy running backs on the active roster. LaFleur said James Conner, on injured reserve, is not ready to return this week. Receiver Kendrick Bourne hurt his right ankle. “It’s not looking good,” LaFleur said. “Not saying it’s the season, but it might be.” Left tackle Jayden Williams hurt his knee, with an update later in the week. Receiver Michael Wilson played through two broken ribs and will keep practicing, and receiver Jalen Brooks was lost for the season the week before.
What the Cardinals have done
Arizona won at the Chargers 26-14 in Week 1, then lost five of six: 31-7 to Seattle, 36-30 at San Francisco, 36-24 at the Giants, 45-21 at home to Detroit and 30-16 at home to Denver, with an 18-16 win at the Rams in between. It has scored 175 points and allowed 238 in eight games, 29.8 a game.
Then Dallas. Jacoby Brissett went 10 of 23 for 119 yards with an interception and was sacked four times, and the Cardinals trailed 14-3 at halftime; Minshew came in after one possession of the second half. He went 17 of 23 for 188 yards and three touchdowns, led four straight touchdown drives, tied it with a 13-yard pass to Wilson with six seconds left, and set up Chad Ryland’s 42-yard field goal in overtime. Allgeier ran 11 times for 147 yards, with a 63-yard touchdown, and Arizona outgained Dallas 467 to 261, per ESPN’s game data. On Monday LaFleur named Minshew the starter: “We needed a spark and obviously Gardner gave us one.” Rookie Carson Beck is the backup, and Brissett is the emergency third quarterback and, per the club, a possible trade candidate before the November 10 deadline.
Trey McBride caught seven passes for 72 yards and a touchdown at Dallas, and Wilson eight for 111.
The matchups that decide it
Seattle’s third downs. A week after converting 11 of 16 against Kansas City, Seattle converted 1 of 11 against Chicago and went three-and-out four times. Arizona has allowed 30 or more points in six of its eight games.
Seattle’s defense against Minshew. In the first meeting Seattle allowed 151 yards. Chicago just put up 363, the most by a Seattle opponent this season, per the club, with touchdown drives of 80, 69 and 56 yards. Arizona’s running game is down to Allgeier and Hull.
Protection. Darnold was sacked three times on Monday with Cross out and Josh Jones at left tackle, after not being sacked against Kansas City. Whether Cross returns will show on Wednesday’s report.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Three touchdowns against Arizona in September, and six catches for 118 yards on Monday, his seventh 100-yard game in eight, with a league-leading 985 yards, per the club.
The line
As of Tuesday, November 3, at 6:45 a.m. Pacific, DraftKings has Seattle by 10.5, total 43.5, moneyline Seattle -625 and Arizona +455, per ESPN’s game data. VegasInsider’s consensus at the same time was also Seattle -10.5 and 43.5; Bet365, DraftKings, Caesars, FanDuel and Kalshi have Seattle -10.5, and BetMGM, Hard Rock and Fanatics -11. It opened Seattle -13.5 with a total of 45.5, before Seattle’s loss to Chicago and Arizona’s comeback at Dallas. ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Seattle an 81.9 percent chance. At 10.5, our 24-13 pick below would be a Seattle cover by half a point. The week’s injury reports can still move it, and the Seahawks odds page has Seattle’s record against the number: 2-4-2 against the spread through eight games, with four of eight under the total.
Washington allows sports betting only in person at tribal casinos, and there is no legal online sportsbook in the state. We carry no sportsbook advertising, and the numbers are here because fans ask, not as advice.
Prediction
Seattle 24, Arizona 13. Seattle’s defense held Arizona to 7 points and 151 yards in September, and has held five of eight opponents to 23 points or fewer; Arizona comes in with two healthy running backs, a hurt receiver group and a change at quarterback. Seattle’s offense has to show that Monday was one bad night on third down. If it does, Seattle covers; if Minshew’s second half at Dallas was not a fluke and Seattle’s third-down trouble carries over, Arizona stays inside the number. We lean under 43.5: Seattle’s games are four under and four over, and the first meeting produced 38 points. Not advice. We revisit the pick after Friday’s game status reports.
The game day guide has the FOX details, tickets and getting to Lumen Field. Our Week 8 recap has how the Bears game got away, and our Week 2 recap has the first meeting.
Week 9: Seahawks vs Cardinals
Questions
What is the prediction for Seahawks vs Cardinals?
Seattle 24, Arizona 13, made on Tuesday, November 3, with a lean to the under on 43.5. Seattle beat Arizona 31-7 in September and has held five of eight opponents to 23 points or fewer; Arizona is down to two healthy running backs and has a new starting quarterback. Not advice. We revisit the pick after Friday's game status reports.
What are the odds for Seahawks vs Cardinals?
As of Tuesday morning, November 3, at 6:45 a.m. Pacific, DraftKings (through ESPN) has Seattle by 10.5 with a total of 43.5 and a moneyline of Seattle -625, Arizona +455, the same 10.5 and 43.5 as VegasInsider's consensus. It opened Seattle -13.5 and 45.5. Not advice.
When is the injury report for Seahawks vs Cardinals?
For a Sunday game, practice reports come Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, November 4 to 6, each due by 1 p.m. Pacific or after practice, and the game status report (out, doubtful, questionable) on Friday, November 6.