The surprise result of Week 1 turned out to be the Cardinals knocking off the Chargers as nearly 10-point underdogs on the road. Not only did Arizona win that game, but it did so in rather dominant fashion from start to finish against a team that was projected to be in the playoffs come January. The Cardinals were so unlucky with injuries a season ago and their roster on both sides of the ball is much better than it was given credit for. Obviously it's important not to overreact to one result, but the Cardinals are clearly better than what the market pegged them to be, and I still think they're being slightly undervalued in this spot.
I've sung the praises of Mike Macdonald and this Seahawks team many times over the last couple of years, and the coaching staff put on another masterclass in their win over the Patriots in Week 1. It was mostly Macdonald's elite defense that carried the team to a victory, as he once again decisively won the battle against Josh McDaniels and Drake Maye. Drew Lock played well after replacing an injured Sam Darnold, but I expect things to get a bit more difficult for the career backup QB now that his opponent has time to prepare for him.
This projects to be a low-scoring affair, which also favors an Arizona team that likes to run the football with its stable of capable running backs. As long as Jacoby Brissett can avoid turning the ball over, the Cardinals are certainly live to spring the upset against a backup quarterback. At the very least, I'll take the points with Arizona at home.
Seahawks vs Cardinals prediction: Cardinals +4.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to Cardinals +4.
