10/6 5:30 PM NFL (477) SEATTLE SEAHAWKS at (478) WASHINGTON REDSKINS
FREE PICK: Under 45.5
We’re going to see a good old fashioned Pros/Joes duel unfolding tonight as the world champion Seahawks invade Washington. The public is going to take the chalk here, while the purportedly sharp play will be on the home underdog.
I’m a little interested in the total here. The opinion is based on how the two teams prefer to play football, and what each is likely to run into in terms of resistance.
The Seahawks are a great team when they play ball control, which means more Lynch and less Wilson. That was the story last season, and based on the initial three games of the current campaign, nothing has changed. The Seahawks won the two games where they had a balanced attack. They lost at San Diego when the Chargers forced them out of their comfort zone and completely dominated them in the process. It’s always easier said than done, but I’ll be surprised if we don’t see a concerted Seattle effort tonight to establish the run in an effort to drive on the Washington defense and establish the tempo they want.
I think the Redskins will want to do the same thing. The ‘Skins need to have Kirk Cousins game manage rather than be the featured attraction. If Cousins has to throw all night, the home team is in deep trouble against this Seattle stop unit. On the flip side, if Washington can generate a consistent ground game, they’re likely to have a great chance to score the upset.
You know what they say about good intentions, and that plays here. If the ground games get shut down, there’s only one alternative and that’s not what I want. But I feel fairly confident that this is geared toward being a physical battle in the trenches with some lengthy and time consuming drives. If enough of those result in FG’s rather than TD’s, we should get a duel where points are not that easy to come by. Betting Unders in football is dicey these days with all the flags for seemingly innocuous offenses. But I’ll look for the low tonight between the Redskins and Seahawks.
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Learning from the games is vital to winning. My Handicapper Recap of 27 games from this past Saturday.