The Seattle Seahawks are looking for some Week 18 magic on Sunday to sneak into the playoffs, and it starts with taking care of business against the Arizona Cardinals.
A 30-23 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers last weekend was a hammer blow to Seattle’s postseason chances, and the Seahawks need a win here and a Green Bay Packers loss to the Bears to grab the No. 7 seed in the NFC.
Seattle enters as a road favorite in the latest NFL odds, but the 4-12 Cardinals are coming off their best win of the year — a 35-31 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles sparked by Kyler Murray’s three touchdown passes.
Check out our free NFL picks and predictions for Seahawks vs. Cardinals for a closer look at this Sunday, January 7 regular-season finale.
Seahawks vs Cardinals odds
Seahawks vs Cardinals predictions
It’s been a frustrating year for the Cardinals, but they’ve got the chance to play spoilers here on the heels of the impressive win over the Eagles in Week 17. While a victory could hurt Arizona’s chances of a Top 3 draft pick, there’s something to be said for ending the season on a high note.
If the Cardinals are prioritizing that draft pick, no one told James Conner, who’s found his best form down the stretch and is benefitting from having Kyler Murray back under center to spice up the running game. Conner gashed Philadelphia for 128 rushing yards last weekend while running for one touchdown and catching another, and there’s every reason to think that kind of production carries over to this weekend.
Against a Seahawks defense that had no answer for the Steelers’ rushing attack on Sunday and gave up 202 yards and three touchdowns in the ground game, I’m picking Conner to have another big afternoon here.
The James Conner odds on the anytime TD prop jump out to me, and he’s found the end zone six times in his last four games. He also continues to be a dual threat around the goal-line, with two of those scores coming as a receiver.
I don’t see the Cardinals rolling over this weekend against their division rivals, and a strong offensive outing should put Conner in position to nail this prop.
My best bet: James Conner anytime TD (+110 at bet365)Picks made at time of writing may not reflect live odds.
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Seahawks vs Cardinals same-game parlay
James Conner anytime TDSeahawks -2.5Zach Charbonnet anytime TD
+900 at bet365
Needless to say, this is a must-win game for the Seahawks and there were some blunt assessments after last week’s dud against Pittsburgh. I see Pete Carroll’s men responding here against an Arizona defense that’s allowed 27 points or more in each of their last three contests.
I don’t expect this to be a lopsided game by any means, but the onus is on Seattle to put some scoreboard pressure on the Packers, and the visitors have enough weapons to cover this small spread.
With Kenneth Walker III questionable due to a shoulder injury, I see Zach Charbonnet picking up a decent workload on Sunday and this is a great matchup for the Seahawks’ running backs.
The Cardinals rank dead-last in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game (143.5) and I’m counting on Charbonnet rumbling in for a touchdown this weekend.
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