Seahawks vs. Cardinals Spread Pick
The Seahawks still need to finish out the season strong so they stay locked into the fifth seed in the NFC. On Sunday they’ll lay double-digits to a Cardinals team that could wind up with the No. 1 pick next April. Is Seattle a sound play for bettors?
Game Snapshot
329 Arizona Cardinals at 330 Seattle Seahawks
4:25 p.m. ET, Sunday, December 30
CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Seahawks are 14-point favorites to beat the Cardinals. The total, meanwhile, sits at 39.5 points. As of this writing, 61% of the public betting tickets are on the Seahawks to cover the point spread.
Arizona Cardinals
Ricky Seals-Jones (shoulder) is out for Week 17 against the Seahawks. He didn’t practice all week due to a shoulder injury. This spells the end of a disappointing sophomore campaign for Seals-Jones, who was limited to a tepid 34-343-1 receiving line over 15 appearances. Even amongst a thin tight end crop, RSJ failed to make an impact this year. He’s well off the redraft radar.
Seattle Seahawks
Doug Baldwin (shoulder) will play in Week 17 against the Cardinals. Baldwin was limited on Thursday then promptly removed from the team’s injury report on Friday. He’s a full go for the Hawks as they play to decidedly travel to either Dallas or Chicago in the Wild Card round. It’s still possible coach Pete Carroll reduces Baldwin’s snaps since Seattle’s in the postseason no matter the outcome.
NFL Betting Trends
Arizona
The Cardinals are 11-4 against the spread in their last 15 games played in Week 17 but are just 1-5 ATS in their last six games overall.
Seattle
The Seahawks are 3-0-1 ATS in their last four home games and are 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven games overall.
Prediction
I’m working off the assumption that the Seahawks won’t start pulling starters at some point in the second half because they know they’ll be traveling next week regardless. That said, I’m going to lay the points. The Cardinals have been wretched the past two weeks and I don’t expect that today they’ll be any more competitive than they were in Atlanta or at home last week versus the Rams. Assuming the Seahawks don’t want to slip to the sixth seed in the NFC, they should put forth their best effort in a runaway.
NFL Week 17 Prediction: Seattle Seahawks -14