Seattle at Arizona

This play is simple when we look at the quarterbacks. The Seattle Seahawks are off to a 5-1 start, and certainly look like a team that can go the distance this season. Russell Wilson has now played 22 NFL games. In his first six, he got his sea legs. Since then, in the last 16 games (equivalent of an entire NFL season), the Seahawks have outscored their opponents by 272 points or 17 points per game! The Seahawks for years were one of the league's worst road teams. Even now, you hear the talking heads say that Seattle is a different team on the road - one that can't be trusted. Well, the fact is that since Wilson took over, this team is 8-5 ATS on the road. So, it looks like times, they are a changin'. Carson Palmer was supposed to help resurrect a morbid Cardinals offense. Instead, he has been reckless with the ball, throwing 11 INTs in six games already. Over the past five seasons, Palmer's teams (Arizona, Oakland, Cincinnati) have gone 29-42 straight-up. Based on my QB ratings, he is one of the worst QBs in the league through six games. His quarterback rating is 69.3 which is 31st in the league. The only QBs worse this season are Christian Ponder, Eli Manning, Josh Freeman and Blaine Gabbert. Look for the best defense in the league to keep the pressure on Palmer here. Arizona is really going to struggle to score in this game so we don't need a ton of points from the Seattle offense to get this win, and it's not a stretch to believe the Seattle defense could produce points here as well. Seattle is the much better team here on both sides of the ball. Remember last season where they forced Arizona into eight turnovers in a 58-0 win. Seattle has covered 20 of their last 27 against NFC opponents, where the games mean the most, and they are 7-0-1 ATS in their last eight after throwing for 250+ in their previous game. Under Pete Carroll, the Seahawks are 8-0 ATS as a favorite in this range (3.5 to 9.5 points) and 28-14 ATS vs. conference foes. Seattle is arguably the best team in the NFC, and maybe the NFL. They should get it done in a division game. In a quarterback-driven league, in a game with a massive difference at that position, lay the points here on Seattle.