Arizona Cardinals at Seattle Seahawks (-6.5)
Now is the time for the Seattle Seahawks to make their move. The Cardinals have proven to be every bit worthy of their league-leading 9-1 record, even with the absence of their starting quarterback for portions of five games this year. Their three-game lead on the rest of the NFC West would appear safe if it weren’t for the Seahawks having two cracks at the Cardinals in their final six games. If Seattle wants any chance at a home playoff game, it must defend its turf on Sunday against the visiting Cardinals.
Seattle has suffered some difficult losses, but three of the four have come against teams with winning records. They clearly aren’t the same club that dominated the NFC with a 13-3 record last year, but they are easily one of the most complete teams in the league.
The Cardinals fought off the formerly 7-2 Lions in Week 11, but it is extremely unlikely that quarterback Drew Stanton will navigate the ship the remainder of the season as well as Carson Palmer had in his starts. For any given game – especially the first emotional attempt after Palmer was officially listed as ‘out’ for the season – momentum is enough to carry the Cardinals to a victory, but speed bumps are to be expected. The same way the Seahawks had to suffer through playing a tough Chiefs team on the road, the Cardinals will have the same experience in Seattle.
The Seahawks win by ten and cover, keeping their dreams of another NFC West title alive.
