Seattle Seahawks vs Arizona Cardinals Preview & Bet (11/9): Don’t Doubt Darnold

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Sam Darnold will face his former team in NFL Week 13. See our Seattle Seahawks vs Minnesota Vikings preview and predictions.

Seattle Seahawks vs Arizona Cardinals

These NFC West foes will meet for the second time this season, and it’ll be Jacoby Brissett now at the controls, looking to guide the Cardinals in a revenge spot against Sam Darnold and a red-hot Seahawks team.

The question is whether Brissett and the Cardinals offense can carry Monday night’s success into one of the toughest defensive matchups in the league. And on the other side, can Arizona’s defense contain one of the most efficient passing attacks in football?

Let’s break it down with my Seattle Seahawks vs Arizona Cardinals preview and picks.

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Seattle Seahawks vs Arizona Cardinals NFL Betting Insights

Take a look at this NFC West matchup in NFL Week 10, with our expert Seattle Seahawks vs Arizona Cardinals preview and picks.

Can Jacoby Brissett lead the Cardinals to another victory on Sunday?

Seahawks vs Cardinals Preview

These two teams last met in Week 4 on Thursday Night Football in a game Seattle appeared to have full control of, until a late surge by Kyler Murray brought it to a 20-20 tie with under 30 seconds to go. Thanks to Arizona kicking the ball out of bounds, Sam Darnold and the Seahawks got ideal field position, made a couple plays, and set up Jason Myers for a 52-yard game-winner to claim a 23-20 victory.

Fast forward to Week 10, and this Seahawks team has taken a noticeable step forward on both sides of the ball. Arizona, meanwhile, has switched quarterbacks and seen mixed results.

Darnold is coming off one of the most efficient offensive performances we’ve seen from any quarterback this season. Off the bye, Seattle went on the road and beat the Commanders 38-14 on Sunday Night Football, with Darnold completing 21 of 24 passes for 330 yards and four touchdowns.

Just as important was the Seahawks’ defense, which held Washington to just 290 total yards and 4.7 yards per play.

Now, Seattle looks to carry that momentum into a matchup with a Cardinals team that seems to have found more stability with Jacoby Brissett.

The 32-year-old is set to make his fourth straight start for Arizona, and finally picked up his first win with the team on Monday night, defeating the Cowboys 27-17. Brissett finished 21-of-31 for 261 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers. He deserves credit for controlling the game and making timely throws, but the bigger story was arguably the Cardinals’ defensive effort. They held one of the league’s more explosive offenses to just 17 points – and seven of those came on a blocked punt returned for a touchdown.

And, to be fair, while Brissett did look good – and finally established some real rhythm with Marvin Harrison Jr. (seven catches, 96 yards and a score) – putting up 27 points against one of the worst defenses in the league isn’t quite as impressive as it may seem. Five of the Cowboys’ previous eight opponents scored at least 30 on them. So it’s progress, but we shouldn’t overreact to it, or treat it as some major offensive breakthrough.

This week’s matchup is a different level of difficulty entirely, as Seattle brings one of the league’s most efficient and disciplined defenses into the equation.

The Seahawks allow the third-fewest yards per play in the league at 4.7, and have lowered that number to 4.1 over their last three games. They also rank ninth in opponent red zone efficiency (54.2%) and sit top-10 in both EPA per play and defensive success rate.

A big part of why Arizona was able to separate from Dallas on Monday night – outside of the defensive performance – was their ground efforts. Emari Demercado led the backfield with 14 carries for 79 yards, which was a meaningful bounce-back performance for him after the costly goal-line mistake against Tennessee in Week 5. But expecting similar production here is unrealistic. Seattle’s run defense allows the fewest yards per carry in the league (3.5), ranks first in rush EPA, and eighth in rush success rate allowed.

If Arizona can’t run the ball, the pressure shifts entirely onto Brissett to move the offense through the air, and that becomes a problem against a secondary allowing the second-fewest yards per completion (8.9).

No matter where you try to attack this Seahawks defense, they have answers. They’re disciplined, they communicate well and they continue to tighten up each week.

Seattle Seahawks vs Arizona Cardinals Picks 

Outside of how difficult this matchup will be for Arizona to move the ball, we also have to consider how challenging it will be for the Cardinals defense to slow down one of the most efficient passing offenses in the league.

Sam Darnold has this unit operating at a top-tier level. Seattle ranks first in dropback success rate and second in dropback EPA. The run game, however, has been the one limitation. Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet haven’t been able to generate much, which is why the overall offensive profile doesn’t look even better than it already does. Seattle currently sits 23rd in rush success rate and 27th in rush EPA per play.

All of the Seahawks’ offensive success runs through Darnold. He’s first in the NFL in both EPA per play and success rate, and sits third in Completion Percentage Over Expected (CPOE). Through eight games, he’s completing over 70% of his passes with 16 touchdowns and 2,084 yards, while turning the ball over just five times. He’s been efficient, accurate and decisive – and Seattle has fully leaned into that identity.

There’s a strong chance that efficiency continues against an Arizona secondary that ranks 25th in dropback success rate allowed. Yes, the Cardinals made Dak Prescott and the Cowboys’ offense look ordinary last week, but this is a different challenge. Seattle is more stable in its scheme, deeper in its playmaking options and much more consistent in execution. From coaching, to receiver talent, to how they create separation, the Seahawks are simply a more advanced and reliable passing offense than what Arizona faced in Dallas.

As I mentioned in my Buccaneers–Patriots preview, I’ll be using Seattle as part of a 6-point teaser this week. The Seahawks are currently -6.5, so instead of needing them to win by seven or more, I’m teasing them down to -0.5. In other words, they just need to win the game outright.

Of course, a teaser requires two legs. The second team I’m pairing them with is New England, moving the Patriots from +2.5 to +8.5 and giving us a comfortable cushion on that side as well.

Seattle is absolutely capable of covering the full -6.5, but in a division revenge spot – and after everyone just watched them roll in primetime – I see more value in simply asking them to win. This keeps us protected from a close division game, while still playing into Seattle’s clear matchup advantages.

Best Bet: 6-Point Teaser Seahawks -0.5 | Patriots +8.5 (-115) BetOnline

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