New Orleans Saints vs. Seattle Seahawks 2019: Prediction Against The Spread, Betting Odds For Week 3

It’s time for Teddy Bridgewater to earn his $7.25 million salary. That’s how much money the New Orleans Saints agreed to pay the quarterback this past offseason to be their backup signal caller and starter in case Drew Brees suffered an injury.

Bridgewater will be under center in Week 3 when the Saints visit the Seattle Seahawks. New Orleans opened as a two-point road favorite, according to OddsShark, but that changed when Brees was ruled out for several weeks with a thumb injury. The latest betting line has the Seahawks favored by 4.5 points.

Winning in Seattle wasn’t going to be easy for New Orleans when Brees was healthy. Now that the future Hall of Fame quarterback is sidelined, the Saints could have trouble even keeping this contest within a touchdown.

Since being traded to New Orleans last year, Bridgewater has had two opportunities to play meaningful minutes in the regular season. Neither one of those opportunities went particularly well for the quarterback and the Saints.

Bridgewater started for Brees in Week 17 of the 2018 season against the Carolina Panthers when New Orleans had already secured home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Other Saints’ starters, like Alvin Kamara, also rested, but the result was nevertheless disappointing. Bridgewater completed 14 of 22 passes for just 118 yards, one touchdown and one interception in a 33-14 loss to Cam Newton’s backup.

When Bridgewater took over for Brees in the second quarter of last week’s matchup with the Los Angeles Rams, L.A. had a 3-0 lead. Bridgewater put up pedestrian numbers with 165 yards on 30 attempts and no touchdowns in a 27-9 defeat.

Maybe things will be different for Bridgewater when he’s had a full week of practice with the Saints’ first-team offense, but he’s also the same quarterback that has a career 85.5 passer rating in 36 games. He averaged 205 passing yards per game as a starter with the Minnesota Vikings.

Seattle’s pass defense might be average at best this season with the Legion of Boom completely gone. Andy Dalton, Ben Roethlisberger and Mason Rudolph have combined to throw for 575 yards in two games against the Seahawks. Seattle barely escaped Week 1 with a win against the Cincinnati Bengals, who were blown out 41-17 by the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2.

The Seahawks dominated their 28-26 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers more than the final score indicated, looking like the team that reached last year’s playoffs. Russell Wilson has completed at least 70 percent of his passes with a passer rating north of 130.0 in both games this season.

Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny could put up big numbers against a Saints’ defense that’s allowing 5.6 yards per carry and ranks 27th in run defense.

Seattle still has both one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks and home-field advantages. New Orleans is headed on the road, where they aren’t nearly as good, without their most important player.

Don’t be afraid to lay the points with the Seahawks.

Prediction: Seattle over New Orleans, 26-16