Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals 2017: Thursday Night Football Prediction, Betting Odds

The Seattle Seahawks visit the Arizona Cardinals on “Thursday Night Football” in Week 10 of the 2017 NFL season. While the NFC West appears to be a two-team race, the Cardinals are looking to claw their way back into the hunt for first place in the division.

Following their Week 9 victory, the Los Angeles Rams sit alone atop the NFC West with a 6-2 record. Seattle’s home loss to the Washington Redskins put them at 5-3 and in sole possession of second place. Arizona is a game behind Seattle after winning Sunday afternoon, and they would be in second place with an upset over the Seahawks.

The defending NFC West champs are expected to take care of business Thursday night. Despite just the one-game difference in their records, the Seahawks are 5.5-point road favorites, according to the betting odds at OddsShark. The over/under is 41.5.

The betting line would look a lot different if the Cardinals were at full strength. They are without quarterback Carson Palmer, and Drew Stanton will get his second start of the season under center.

Stanton was good enough to give Arizona a win on the road in Week 9. The Cardinals beat the winless 49ers 20-10 in San Francisco.

The career backup didn’t exactly put up impressive numbers in the victory. He completed 15 of his 30 pass attempts for 201 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Stanton faced a San Francisco defense that ranks 27th in yards allowed and 31st in scoring defense.

The 49ers have allowed at least 23 points in six of their nine losses. The Cardinals have failed to score more than 20 points in both of their meetings with San Francisco.

That probably means Stanton and Co. will have trouble moving the ball against Seattle, who still has one of the NFL’s best defenses. The Seahawks have allowed 17 points or fewer in all five of their games against the NFC. Even after Kirk Cousins played well at CenturyLink Field, Seattle is limiting opposing quarterbacks to a 77.0 passer rating.

Maybe the Cardinals will be able to stay in Thursday’s game by controlling time of possession and keeping the Seahawks’ offense off the field. Adrian Peterson has rushed for more than 130 yards in two of his three games with Arizona. Russell Wilson is coming off maybe his worst game of the season, and Seattle has failed to score more than 16 points on four separate occasions.

But Arizona still doesn’t have a win against a good team. They haven’t really been competitive when facing teams that could go to the playoffs.

The Cardinals’ four wins have come against the 49ers, Colts and Buccaneers, all of whom have a combined five wins. They are 0-4 against the Lions, Cowboys, Eagles and Rams, losing by a total of 83 points.

Seattle has five wins of their own this season. They’ve taken care of business when facing mediocre competition, beating the Colts by 28 points and the Giants by 17 points.

Look for the Seahawks to win this one by at least two scores.

Prediction: Seattle over Arizona, 23-13

​