DraftKings’ largest opening line belongs to the Seahawks in Week 7

While the Seattle Seahawks were using their Week 5 bye to get healthy, their Week 7 opponent, the Arizona Cardinals were hosting Joe Burrow and company at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals surrendered 380 yards, including 192 (and 3 TDs) to WR Ja’Marr Chase, and lost by 14 points.

Yesterday, the Seahawks faced Burrow & Co. on their home field in Cincinnati, allowed only 214 yards, including 80 (and 0 TDs) to Mr. Chase, and lost by 4.

That 10-point difference versus Joe Cool and his kitty cats, plus the “customary” bump for playing at home, is the best explanation I have for why the Seahawks opened as 8-1/2-point home favorites this week.

What I have a harder time explaining is how they ended up with Week 7’s biggest opening line, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.

Not that I’m complaining.

I mean, the Cardinals are 1-5 for a reason, and the Seahawks might (or might not) be better than their 3-2 record indicates.

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I think we’re all familiar with how the local team got to this point, so let’s take a few moments to look at Seattle’s Week 7 opponent (slash overmatched victim) . . .

Admittedly, the Cardinals have been more competitive than many (most?) expected them to be through the first third of the season.

AZ HIGHLIGHTS:

• Week 3: Shocked the world by beating the Jerry Joneses.
• Week 4: Were within 5 points of the San Francisco 49ers heading into the fourth quarter.
• General: Have had a halftime lead in four of their six games, including two of three both at home and on the road.

AZ LOWLIGHTS:

• Week 1: Had a 6-point lead against Riverboat Ron’s club in the 4th quarter; lost by 4.
• Week 2: Had a 21-point lead over the NFC’s New Jersey team in the third quarter, then gave up 24 unanswered points and lost by 3.
• Week 4: Ended up losing by 19 to the Niners.
• Week 6: Held the Los Angeles Rams to 5 yards rushing in the first half, but allowed them to finish with 179 yards on the ground, including 158 by Kyren Williams who averaged 7.9 yards per carry for the game.
• General: Have been outscored 64-7 in the fourth quarter this year.

Note: To be fair, the Seahawks have also been outscored in the 4th quarter, but only by eight points across five games (32-40), and they were minus-13 in the fourth quarter of their Week 1 debacle, which means they’re actually plus-5 since then.

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How about some historical context?

The Cardinals have faced off against the Seahawks 48 times: The first two times were when they were in St. Louis (1976, 1983); they were the Phoenix Cardinals for the next two (1989, 1993).

Seattle lost all four of those games . . . as well as the first game in Arizona (1995).

The Seahawks are 25-17-1 versus the Cardinals since then.

More than half the games between these two teams (26 of the 48) have taken place on Pete Carroll’s watch. Seattle has compiled a 16-9-1 record versus the Cardinals under Pete, including wins in each of the last three contests.

Interestingly, Carroll’s Seahawks teams are 9-3-1 versus the Cardinals on the road, but have only won one more game than they’ve lost (7-6) at home.

Naturally, none of that will mean anything come Sunday afternoon, but it does give us something to share with our friends, colleagues, and loved ones during the week.

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If you’re interested in betting on the game, this last part might have some value . . .

When Seattle has the ball: Heading into Week 7, Seattle’s offense is averaging 332 yards and 24.8 points per game. Arizona is allowing both more yards (376.7) and more points (27.0) than that.

When Arizona has the ball: Offensively, the Cardinals are right behind Seattle in yards-per-game (331.7), but trail them by a healthy margin in scoring (19.5 per game). Seattle’s defense is allowing more than that on both counts, but the yardage is pretty close (336.8) and the points aren’t too bad (21.6).

Randomness:

• Arizona has scored in 15 of 24 quarters (62.5%), but has not scored in more than three consecutive quarters - meaning that they’ve had at least one quarter in every game where they didn’t score any points.
  
  Conversely, Arizona’s opponents have scored in 20 of the 24 quarters (83.3%), including the last nine quarters, and 17 of the last 18.

• On the Seattle side of that coin, the Seahawks have scored in 16 of 20 quarters (80%), including a stretch of 13 consecutive quarters that ended in the fourth quarter yesterday. Their opponents have scored in 14 of 20 quarters (70%).

Note: Seattle scored in their only overtime period as well, but that’s not included in the calculation above.

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As of Sunday night, the moneyline was -395 for Seattle and +310 for Arizona.

The Over/Under is 46.5 points.