Seahawks reach 5-4 as Nelson trade echoes through ESPN's Week 9 takeaways
Seattle's defense held Arizona to 3 points to get to 5-4. Up next is a trip to Las Vegas, where the Seahawks are favored over the Raiders.
The Seattle Seahawks finished Week 9 one game over .500. A 17-3 win over the Arizona Cardinals put them at 5-4 and made it two games in their last three in which the defense allowed only a field goal. Seattle doesn't get its own section in ESPN's NFL Nation roundup of Sunday's games, but the team still turns up in it twice.
The first mention comes from Indianapolis. ESPN's Colts reporter Stephen Holder pointed out that two of Jonathan Taylor's worst rushing games this season have come since the Colts traded guard Quenton Nelson, a deal ESPN reported sent the Pro Bowl lineman to Seattle. Taylor ran for 23 yards at Jacksonville and 46 against Dallas, and he is meeting more contact at the line of scrimmage. Indianapolis fell to 2-7 with the loss to the Cowboys. For Seattle, a Pro Bowl guard means an interior line that should be harder to push around as the second half of the season starts.
The second mention concerns a former Seahawk. ESPN's fantasy analyst Matt Bowen noted that Kenneth Walker III scored three touchdowns for Kansas City against the Jets, and that Seattle was one of only two opponents to hold him to a subpar day this season. The Seahawks beat the Chiefs 20-3 in that game, which is still one of their best defensive performances of the year.
The overall numbers show a team that has been better than its record. Seattle has scored 202 points and allowed 162, a margin of plus-40 over nine games. Three of the four losses came by three points or fewer: 31-33 at Washington, 29-32 against San Francisco and 14-17 at Denver. The only lopsided loss was 34-17 to Chicago. Seattle is 4-2 at home but 1-2 on the road, and its only road win came at Arizona.
What it means for Las Vegas
The Seahawks travel to face the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, Nov. 15 (CBS). The trip tests the part of the profile that has lagged, since two of the three road games have ended in losses. The defense has been steadier over the last month. In the 2-2 stretch since the San Francisco loss, Seattle allowed 3 points twice, with the 34-point outing against Chicago the exception.
Across the 10 venues on our odds board, Seattle is favored. Novig lists the Seahawks at -170 to win outright. The best price anywhere is -155 at theScore Bet, which returns $64.52 per $100 compared with $58.82 at Novig. The Raiders are +156 at Novig. On the spread, Novig has Seattle at -3.5 priced at -102, while theScore Bet offers -3 at -110. That half-point sits right on the most common margin in football. Novig sets the total at 43.5, and BetMGM has the lowest number at 43. Sportsbook hold on the moneyline ranges from 3.3% to 6.4%, a wider spread between venues than on the other two markets.
Seattle's scoring has mostly stayed below that total. Combined points in its games average about 40 per game, and five of the nine finished below 43.5. Three of those five were games in which the defense held the opponent to a field goal.
Season results, schedule and team numbers are on our Seahawks page.