Seahawks vs. Cardinals: NFL Week 18 betting odds, preview, and pick

The first ever Week 18 in NFL history features an NFC West matchup pitting the Seattle Seahawks against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday afternoon.

The Seahawks are purely playing for pride, while the division crown remains up for grabs for the Cardinals, who would need to win this game and have the San Francisco 49ers beat the Los Angeles Rams to clinch.

Will Seattle play spoiler, or will Arizona ace their final regular season test? Let’s dive into the matchup and give out our best bet.

Seattle Seahawks (6-10) at Arizona Cardinals (11-5), 4:25 p.m. ET, FOX

A Penny-centric Seattle gameplan makes sense

Rashaad Penny has emerged as the Seahawks’ most dangerous weapon over the last four weeks. He’s topped 130 rushing yards in three of those four tilts, accounting for five touchdowns along the way.

Penny should be deployed early and often against the Cardinals’ rush defense, which gave up 112 rushing yards to the anonymous Craig Reynolds of the Detroit Lions just two weeks ago.

When Russell Wilson does drop back to pass, he has 1,000-yard receiver Tyler Lockett – who accounted for 115 receiving yards in his first meeting with Arizona this season – at his disposal, along with D.K. Metcalf, who’s within striking distance of another 1,000-yard campaign.

Murray should make mincemeat of Seahawks pass stoppers

After missing his team’s Week 11 matchup with Seattle, Kyler Murray must be licking his chops ahead of this Week 18 collision.

The Seahawks are 31st in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game, surrendering 270.4 yards per contest. That includes their allowing 328 yards through the air to Murray’s backup, Colt McCoy, earlier this season.

Despite his team’s modest 1-3 record, Murray has completed nearly 64% of his passes over the last four weeks, for an average of 254.2 yards per tilt. He’s tossed six touchdowns and three interceptions in that span.

Seahawks vs. Cardinals injury report

Seahawks and Cardinals betting trends

• The Seahawks are 11-5 ATS in their last 16 games as a road underdog
• The Cardinals are 9-24 ATS in their last 33 games as a home favorite
• The Cardinals are 4-1 ATS in their last five games against NFC West opponents
• The road team is 10-3-1 ATS in the last 14 meetings between these two clubs
• The Under is 7-1 in the Seahawks’ last eight road games

The verdict

It might be too bold to call for an outright Seahawks victory, but it would not be shocking to see them stay within the number in a potential shootout.

Score prediction: Cardinals 27, Seahawks 24

NFL pick: Seahawks +6.5, Over 48

Seahawks vs. Cardinals pick powered by The Quant Edge

Our predictive engine is calling for the Seahawks to cover the spread, and the game to go Over the projected total.