Seahawks
vs.
Saints
Week 8
NFL Pick
10/30/16
Fresh off a tie against the Arizona Cardinals, the Seattle Seahawks are heading to New Orleans. Seattle imploded on special teams last week and are looking to put that Game behind them against the Saints.
Seattle has an injured Russell Wilson, who hasn’t been able to use his legs or improvise in the passing Game due to a lower leg injury he received against San Francisco earlier this year. Wilson has only thrown for 5 touchdowns this season. His QBR is 53.4 which is well below where he was this time last season.
The defense of the Seahawks is still the staple of the team; they are the number one ranked defense overall, only allowing 14.1 points per Game. They will need the defense to show up big to come away with a win against the high-powered Saints’ offense.
This Game is a classic battle of strength versus strength with the Saints having the number one passing offense in the league led by QB Drew Brees. The Saints’ QB has a QBR of 70.1 and has thrown for 17 touchdowns and 2,101 yards.
The Saints will have to deal with Richard Sherman and that stout Seattle defense so having a balanced offense is going to be key in earning a victory. The Saints need Brandin Cooks, who leads the Saints with 486 yards receiving to stretch the field so that the running Game can get going with Mark Ingram. They will need Ingram to give the Saints another weapon on offense other than relying heavily on Brees’ arm to get them a win this weekend.
Seattle is not the same team on the road as they are with the 12th man cheering them on in Seattle. Seattle’s defense is elite, but so are Drew Bree’s football IQ and arm talent. Look for Seattle to have their hands full against New Orleans and lose a close Game against the Saints.
The Seahawks will not have enough offensive fire power to contend with the Saints on their home field. This will be a let down for the Seahawks traveling to face a New Orleans team that looks much better than their record states.
The Saints have lost some close Games to start the season, but are coming into this Game winning 2 of their last 3.
Our Pick – Saints +2.5