Arizona at Seattle NFL Week 17 Betting Prediction & Pick

The Seattle Seahawks clung to their postseason hopes last week, heading down to Dallas and delivering a 21-12 win over the Cowboys. A Seattle win over Arizona, combined with an Atlanta loss at home to Carolina, would give the Seahawks the second wild card in the NFC playoffs, so the Seahawks have plenty to play for. They welcome an Arizona team that has won just two of their seven road games so far this season and still have a committee of Drew Stanton and Blaine Gabbert running their offense. We take a look at the NFL Week 17 odds for this matchup.

Arizona at Seattle NFL Week 17 Betting Prediction & Pick

.@LisaMatthewsAZ + @MikeJurecki break down a familiar opponent, as we get set to head to Seattle this weekend. #AZvsSEA https://t.co/MPoEr5up9s

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) December 29, 2017

When: Sunday, December 31, 4:25pm ET Where: CenturyLink Field, Seattle TV: FOX Radio: KTAR 620 AM Phoenix / KIRO 710 AM Seattle Live Stream: NFL Live NFL Week 17 Odds: Seattle (-9), O/U 38.5

Latest NFL Betting Trends

• Arizona is 8-16-1 ATS in its last 25 games
• Arizona is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
• The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Arizona’s last 14 games
• Seattle is 3-5-1 ATS in its last 9 games
• Seattle is 8-4 SU in its last 12 games
• The total has gone OVER in 4 of Seattle’s last 6 games at home

Why should you bet on the Cardinals?

The last time Arizona won a road game, they beat the San Francisco 49ers by 10 points up at Levi’s Stadium — but that was before the Niners had traded for Jimmy Garoppolo, and Brian Hoyer was still leading their offense. Since then, Arizona has dropped four of seven — but one of those wins came over Jacksonville, who are at 11-4 now. In their last game, they routed the New York Giants, 23-0. Stanton went 20 for 34 for 209 yards and a pair of touchdowns (as well as a pair of interceptions). Larry Fitzgerald hauled in nine catches for 119 yards and one of those touchdowns. So the Cardinals can be dangerous on offense. What about the defense? Well, the Cardinals did shut down the Giants, but they are a team in total disarray, having fired their head coach and general manager and having left their franchise quarterback, Eli Manning, twisting in the wind about his own future. The Cardinals have to face a Seahawk team that did not play all that well on offense against Dallas last week but did get clutch scores when they needed them. Russell Wilson did not have much time to throw the ball against Dallas, so if the Cardinals can harass him as well, they could hang close with the Seahawks in this game.

Why should you put your money on the Seahawks?

Russell Wilson only threw the ball for 93 yards against Dallas — but he had two clutch touchdown passes, and he completed almost 67 percent of his passes with no interceptions. His completion rate on the season is over 61 percent, and he has 32 touchdown passes against just 11 interceptions. So his efficiency was terrific even on a night when he didn’t have a whole lot of time to throw the ball. The Seattle running game is still less than impressive, but the defense gave the team several short fields against Dallas thanks to three takeaways. The Seahawks’ defensive performance against Dallas is even more impressive given that they are missing three starters in their secondary. Their pass rush was able to exploit holes in the Dallas blocking scheme, and their secondary was able to make Dez Bryant look fairly elderly, as they knocked the ball out of his hands for a fumble on one play, and they took a pick when another pass clanked off his hands and up into the air. If they can put together a similar team effort against Arizona, they should get the win here.

Expert Pick and Final Prediction

I see Seattle winning this game and putting the heat on Atlanta to win in order to qualify for the postseason. I also see the defense rising to the occasion in front of their home crowd to get redemption for the 42-7 rout they took at home from Los Angeles two weeks ago. The Cardinals’ quarterback committee does not have the mobility to deal with the Seattle pass rush, and I see the Seahawks winning by a score of 24-9 — and locking up that second wild card when the Falcons lose.