Seahawks Handle Cardinals 17-3, and Our +8.5 Backdoor Dream Dies

Seattle 17, Arizona 3 is the kind of result that makes a +8.5 ticket look like a gift that got returned. The Seahawks won by 14, clearing the number comfortably, and our Cardinals +8.5 pick missed by a wide margin.

The reasoning was built on a backup-QB favorite being overpriced. Seattle was without starting quarterback Sam Darnold, left tackle Charles Cross, guard Quenton Nelson, receiver Rashid Shaheed and two front-seven starters, and we thought 8.5 was too many points to give in a division game. Some of that logic still holds up. Eight and a half is a big number for a home team that was winning by only 1.4 points per game.

Where it fell apart was Arizona's side of the ball. The Cardinals came in at 3-2 on the road, averaging 26.2 points away from home. None of that showed up. Three points is the kind of output that kills every divisional-familiarity argument long before the final whistle, and the backdoor cover we hoped for never got close, because Arizona never got close.

So the pick is a miss, and we're owning it. Injuries and a backup quarterback are supposed to shrink a team's ceiling, and they did, just by more than we priced in. Arizona's defense was already a liability at 29.75 points allowed per game, and the offense couldn't give us the cushion we needed.

We move on to the next slate, but this one is going in the notebook.