The NFC West will receive a primetime treatment on Thursday when the Seattle Seahawks (2-1) head south to face the Arizona Cardinals (2-1) inside State Farm Stadium.
Seattle is looking to extend their two-game winning streak on Thursday. The Seahawks have defeated both the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New Orleans Saints in the first month of the young season.
Arizona had its two-game winning streak snapped by the San Francisco 49ers, another member of the NFC West division. Previously, the Cardinals earned wins over the Saints and Panthers before dropping their heartbreaking 16-15 game to San Francisco.
Will the Cardinals or Seahawks earn a victory in this primetime affair? We’ll cover that and provide bettors with our top three player props for this Thursday Night Football matchup.
The $100 million question Seattle fans have is whether or not veteran quarterback Sam Darnold would be worth his three-year, nine-figure salary. Through two games, he’s proven he’s up to the task while leading the Seahawks to a pair of victories.
Darnold is more accurate in Seattle’s offense thus far, completing 70.3 percent of his passes. He’s thrown for 663 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions for the Seahawks.
Arizona has allowed opposing offenses to move the ball, but the teams have not converted those drives to touchdowns. That info should give bettors a good feeling about Darnold’s chances to shine on Thursday, and he’ll cover his player prop bet against the Cardinals.
While Darnold is a traditional pocket-passer, his counterpart – Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray – is cut from a different cloth. Through three games, he’s completed 67.4 percent of his passes for 542 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. But he’s also run the football 20 times for 107 rushing yards.
Seattle’s defense will be put to the test on Thursday night. The unit has allowed 30 rushing yards from opposing quarterbacks, but none of them are as mobile as Murray. Bettors should expect the seventh-year signal-caller to call his own number, recording at least 30 rushing yards for the Cardinals to cover this player prop.
Darnold’s top target in Seattle is third-year wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The receiver has twice as many targets as any other player, and he’s used those opportunities to record 22 receptions for 323 yards and a score through three outings.
Thus far, Smith-Njigba has yet to finish with fewer than 96 receiving yards in any of his team’s outings. Arizona’s secondary will be up to the challenge of slowing him down, and bettors should take the under on this player prop wager.
Seattle will be well-rested heading into Week 4. The Seahawks dominated all three aspects of the game against New Orleans, beating the Saints 44-13 on Sunday. Offensively, Seattle posted just 320 total yards of offense, but the Seahawks scored four touchdowns and three field goals against New Orleans.
Expect the Cardinals to provide a much tougher contest for the Seahawks. Arizona will be at home for only the second time this season, and the Cardinals need this win to keep pace with the 49ers and Los Angeles Rams. Take Arizona to cover their spread and win this contest.