The Seattle Seahawks are headed into their first NFC West test as defending champions, and the expert picks say they should win - but not by much.
After opening the season with a victory over the New England Patriots, Seattle now travels to Glendale to face an Arizona Cardinals team that already has one eye-catching result on its résumé. Arizona stunned Jim Harbaugh and the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1, winning 26-14, and that’s enough to make this matchup look a little less straightforward than the records suggest.
The national consensus still leans heavily toward Seattle. On the SI side, Albert Breer, Eva Geitheim, Mitch Goldich, Mike Kadlick, Gilberto Manzano, Conor Orr, John Pluym and Matt Verderame all picked the Seahawks. Pamela Maldonado, Eric Moody and Seth Walder did the same at ESPN, with Walder going with Seahawks 23, Cardinals 13.
Walder also offered a bold call: rookie running back Jadarian Price could be the one to break out.
"Seahawks rookie RB Jadarian Price will record 100 total yards. I imagine the Seahawks will want to rely on the ground game and defense with Lock starting in place of Darnold.
Price looked good in Week 1, so even if he's still sharing the RB workload with George Holani, he could have a big game." Walder wrote.
USA Today’s picks followed the same pattern, though most of those predictions kept Arizona within one score. Adam Kaufman had Seattle winning 24-16, Nate Davis took the Seahawks 23-17, Richard Morin went 20-14, and Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz called for a 20-17 finish.
Middlehurst-Schwartz pointed to Arizona head coach Mike LaFleur after his Week 1 work.
"Is it a stretch to say that the defending champs might have to endure a close call against their divisional cellar-dweller? With Drew Lock being a grab bag behind center, there's less of a sense of certainty that Mike Macdonald's crew otherwise might enjoy. Arizona scored a combined 42 points in its two meetings with Seattle last season, and Mike LaFleur's creativity as a play-caller could go a long way toward at least keeping the Cardinals competitive here," Middlehurst-Schwartz wrote.
There were more close-game projections elsewhere, too. Jeremy Bergman picked Seahawks 16-13, Brooke Cersosimo had 20-18, Gennaro Filice went 21-17, Bobby Kownack took 17-10, and Dan Parr predicted 26-20.
Cersosimo said Arizona’s offense may have a harder time against Seattle’s defense than it did against the Chargers.
"As impressed as I was with Mike LaFleur's balanced and efficient offense last time out, I'm unsure whether Jacoby Brissett, Jeremiyah Love and friends can move the ball as easily against Mike Macdonald's vaunted defense -- specifically the secondary. That unit, which smacked the Pats in the mouth again, sets the tone and can help Seattle tread water until Darnold returns," Cersosimo wrote.
Mike Florio also backed Seattle, while noting that the Seahawks’ extra time to prepare could matter after they played Wednesday night in Week 1.
"The extra time to prepare will make a difference for Seattle, especially with Drew Lock replacing Sam Darnold. Last year, the Cardinals gave the Seahawks all they could handle on a Thursday night in Arizona," Florio wrote. "Could the home team do it again?"
The game is set for Sunday at 1:25 p.m. PT in Glendale, Arizona. The experts have Seattle in front, but the Cardinals have already shown they can make things uncomfortable.
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