Washington Redskins (+3.5)* at Arizona Cardinals
Arizona drew the short straw last week by facing a Broncos team coming off a loss followed by a bye week. As expected by their typical response to such conditions, Denver handed the Cardinals their first loss of the season. Washington was in no more favorable of a position, also facing a team returning from a week off, hosting the Seahawks on Monday Night Football.
While both the Cardinals and Redskins suffered double digit losses in Week 5 – Arizona’s defeat was mathematically worse, but they were on the road – the talent level between these two teams appear to be vastly different. But, what if they’re not?
After the first twenty five minutes of play, the Redskins were able to counter the punches thrown by Seattle, and even found a way to somewhat contain Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch for the better part of the second half. Even the ridiculous 30-yard completion on third down on Seattle’s final drive of the game was played correctly by the Redskins and was more a function of Russell Wilson’s incredible field awareness than poor play by the Washington defense.
Moreover, why is it impossible to believe that something clicked for the Redskins in the second half of their game against the Seahawks?
In a vacuum, the Cardinals are the better team, but the Redskins’ late surge coupled with the continued question marks surrounding the health of, now two, quarterbacks in Arizona tip the scales towards Washington. The Redskins’ defense stops whatever Cardinals player lines up under center, and Washington wins by a field goal, beating the spread.
