Seattle Seahawks

Picks

Knight was held to 27 yards on nine carries against the Cowboys piss-poor run defense last week. Arizona's other RB Emari Demercado returned from an ankle injury and balled out, rushing for 79 yards on 14 carries. Demercado is the more efficient runner and has more big-play potential. Knight will still play a role at the goal line and on third-downs but expect fewer carries moving forward. A lower usage rate is just one reason to fade Knight on Sunday. The Cardinals are 7-point dogs against the Seahawks so we could see a negative game script and more passing for Arizona. In addition, Seattle allows just 63.1 rushing yards per game on 3.2 ypa to opposing RBs — both numbers good for second-best in the league.

Rashid Shaheed was a big name move during the trade deadline, leaving the passive passing game of New Orleans for the Seahawks’ air attack. Shaheed will help Seattle a lot, but more as a player who can stretch the field and take attention away from Jaxon Smith-Njigba. His first game in this new playbook with QB Sam Darnold comes against Arizona’s zone-centric schemes that utilize two high safeties to prevent big plays over the top. Shaheed’s speed is great against man coverage but his production sinks versus zone and Darnold has struggled versus zone schemes the past two seasons as a starter. Shaheed’s yardage total is ticking up with people expecting big things in his debut but we won’t see the same target share as he did in NOLA and many player projections come in well below 40.5 yards, with a low of 30.65 yards.

As long as Jacoby Brissett is under center, Trey McBride should keep producing. He’s seen 11 red-zone targets over three games with Brissett, converting four of them into touchdowns—already doubling his total from all of 2024. McBride has scored in every game Brissett has started and leads all tight ends in red-zone looks since Week 6, even after missing Week 8. His 33 targets since Week 6 rank tied for eighth in all of football, with six of the seven guys ahead of him playing an extra game. I wouldn’t play it much lower than +155, but I’m in on McBride to score in his fourth straight game at +140 or better.

Heading into Week 10, Seattle sits Top 10 in many advanced measurements and has allowed more than 20 points just once in eight games. The Seahawks defense is getting healthier after injuries plagued this secondary earlier in the schedule and the defensive line is the beating heart of this stop unit. They’re getting tremendous pressure on rival passers with just a four-man rush, sitting fourth in pressure rate and third in sacks (27). Brissett suffered five sacks in the win over Dallas and has been sacked 13 times in his three starts. Arizona ranks 25th in pass block rating at PFF and has allowed Brissett to feel pressure on 35% of dropbacks. The Cardinals find themselves on the road for the second straight game on a short week after playing at Dallas on Monday. Add in a chance of rain for Lumen Field and I like the home team below the key number.

The Seahawks are analytical darlings and bookended their Week 8 bye with double-digit wins over teams that punched postseason tickets last season. It’s a little bit of a different story for the Cardinals. Arizona has dropped five straight ahead of its Week 9 game against the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football, and the Cards only road win was against the New Orleans Saints.