Close-Game Specialist Seahawks Big Chalk at Home to Arizona

Ten of Seattle’s 11 wins this year have been decided by a single possession, but the Seahawks are laying close to double digits Sunday at home to Arizona. The Cardinals have covered each of their last four trips to the Pacific Northwest and are 11-3-1 ATS in their last 15 division road games.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

Arizona was a 5.5-point home underdog when the Seahawks beat the Cardinals 27-10 in Week 4, making this line look short at first glance. The opener of Arizona +9 was briefly bet up to 10 before moving back down to 9.5 as of Monday night.

Arizona News & Notes

Owner of a 4-9-1 record, Arizona has known for a while that a playoff appearance this season wouldn’t be in the Cards. (Sorry.) But Kliff Kingsbury’s bunch is still playing hard down the stretch, going 6-3-1 ATS in its last 10 games.

Last week, the Cardinals gained 299 yards of offense in the first half alone, enjoying their best offensive outing of the season in a 38-24 victory over the Browns. Kenyan Drake ran for four touchdowns and a season-high 137 yards, part of Arizona’s 226 rushing yards as a team.

The Cardinals have also been a tough out recently in division games on the road, going 11-3-1 ATS in their last 15 when visiting NFC West rivals. That includes four straight covers at CenturyLink Field, among them three straight-up upsets as underdogs.

Seattle News & Notes

Seattle’s knack for winning one-possession games continued last week in Charlotte, where the Seahawks clinched a playoff spot with a 30-24 win over the Panthers. That six-point margin of victory was a bit misleading as the ’Hawks scored on each of their first three possessions and held a 30-10 lead midway through the fourth quarter before Carolina rallied with two late touchdowns.

Still, Seattle coach Pete Carroll might be a little concerned with how his team hasn’t been able to put opponents away. On the year, 10 of Seattle’s 11 victories have been decided by eight points or less.

Protecting leads will be even more difficult for the Seahawks this week with all the injuries they’re dealing with on defense. Star ends Ziggy Ansah and Jadeveon Clowney sat out last week’s game, as did cornerback Shaquill Griffin. The newest Seahawks to hit the infirmary include linebacker Bobby Wagner and safety Quandre Diggs, who both suffered ankle injuries against the Panthers.

It’s worth noting that Carolina’s two late touchdowns came after Wagner left the game, although Carroll seemed optimistic that the linebacker would be back this week.

Betting Pick: Cardinals +9.5

Seattle is banged up on defense and might be caught looking ahead to next week’s showdown with the 49ers.