The Arizona Cardinals could send a real message to the rest of the NFL and stake an early claim to the NFC West title if they can figure out how to take down the Seattle Seahawks in one of the toughest venues to play in the NFL on Sunday Night Football.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Arizona Cardinals +3.5
Seattle Seahawks -3.5
Over/Under 45
ODDS ANALYSIS
At this point in the season, the oddsmakers generally have a pretty good idea which teams are the best in the NFL, and it isn't often that they're wrong. But are the Seahawks really better than the Cardinals are? That's what the oddsmakers are telling you by lining Seattle at -3.5 for Sunday Night Football in Week 10 if we're still assuming that home field advantage is worth just three points.
Remember that both of these teams are coming off of their bye, so it's not like there's an unfair advantage there in play, and though the Link is largely known for being a horrifying place to play, the Cardinals have already proven they can overcome all of that, and the mystique of this building has gone away some in 2015.
The total opened at 45, a number we wouldn't be shocked to see drop in the coming days.
WHEN THE ARIZONA CARDINALS HAVE THE BALL
Don't look now, but Arizona might have the most well-rounded offense in the NFL. That's not hyperbole either; the Cards rank in the Top 10 in the game in the rush and in the pass, and they're doing all of this with a running back by committee headed by Chris Johnson, a man who was a free agent a week into the preseason and a quarterback in Carson Palmer who was basically had for a song and a dance a few years ago from Oakland.
Unlike last season when this team was beaten up both along the offensive line and at the quarterback spot, Arizona is reporting no injuries whatsoever of note offensively. Michael Floyd seems to be getting into the swing of things as well, and that's only making things more dangerous for opposing defenses.
Richard Sherman can only shut down one receiver at a time, and he has looked a bit vulnerable at times this year. Sure, the Seahawks are allowing just 284.9 yards and 17.5 points per game, but they aren't passing the eye test, particularly late in games against solid offenses like this one.
Live bettors should see an opportunity evolving in front of them here, especially if the Seahawks do jump ahead. You know that Arizona is going to have its chances to score, and Seattle, in spite of its recent successes against San Fran and Dallas, has blown four fourth quarter leads this year.
WHEN THE SEATTLE SEAHAWKS HAVE THE BALL
Would you believe that Russell Wilson and the Seahawks haven't scored more than 26 points in a game since Week 1? This ground game looks merely above average with Marshawn Lynch this year, and Wilson has spent a ton of time on his back getting sacked, leading to a passing game which ranks just No. 28 in the league.
The good news is that Arizona's pass rushers aren't particularly great. This is still a solid defense, one which creates a ton of turnovers, but the stats for rushing the passer are about as ugly as it gets.
If the Seahawks didn't fix their offensive line problems in their bye week, something which we just can't imagine happened so quickly with all of the holes that need to be plugged, they could be in some trouble against a unit which is keeping teams down to 312.8 yards and 19.1 points per football game.
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