Seattle and New Orleans have been two of the biggest players in the NFC for the past 11 years, amassing two Super Bowl titles, three conference championships and 11 divisional crowns between them in that period.
Both teams won their respective divisions last year but heading into Monday’s meeting on the West Coast have fallen on hard times. The Saints find themselves in a salary cap nightmare and are also coming to terms with the retirement of franchise legend Drew Brees, while the Seahawks are without injured quarterback Russell Wilson and are paying the price for some bad drafts.
A playoff run is not out of the question yet though, but both teams will need to start stacking up the wins to remain in the hunt and the finale of the Week Seven slate of games is a perfect opportunity for one team to get one over on their wildcard rival.
Throw into the mix some wet and windy conditions and the scene is set for a potentially dramatic night.
Inconsistent Offense Slowing Saints Down
The Saints enter the game as 4.5-point favourite and are 20/21 to cover the handicap as they look to improve upon their 3-2 record following a bye week.
It’s been an erratic start from Sean Peyton’s men, going from the highs of thrashing the Green Bay Packers to the lows of losses to the Carolina Panthers and New York Giants. The offense has largely taken the blame for any of the Saints’ failures as it adapts to life with Jameis Winston under centre.
Winston has been kept on a short lead, averaging less than 180 passing yards per game, and is unlikely to see too much action on Monday due to the strong winds. He’s 4/5 to have under 200.5 passing yards, which looks a safe bet with the Saints having already shown a preference for running the ball when in possession.
They have the ninth-ranked rushing attack in the NFL this year with Alvin Kamara leading the way. He’d hope to punch a few holes in a Seattle defence that has struggled to stop the run at times but stood up well to the ground game of the Pittsburgh Steelers last week.
They gave up only 119 rushing yards to the Steelers, a big improvement on previous efforts from a defence that has allowed a league-worst 443.2 yards per game.
Smith and Seahawks Fighting Hard
The Seahawks have played some top offences in their start to the season, making their numbers slightly skewed and against a mediocre offence like Pittsburgh’s, they showed they can be competitive.
Back-up quarterback Geno Smith also showed he could be competitive as he started his first NFL game for four years in the absence of the injured Wilson. Smith completed 23 of 32 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown before overshadowing his good work by giving up the game-deciding fumble in the 23-20 overtime defeat.
Smith’s performance gave hope the 2-4 Seahawks won’t sink without a trace in Wilson’s absence. Seattle still have some nice pieces on offenses in Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf, while Alex Collins enjoyed a strong outing at running backs at Pittsburgh.
This Saints defense isn’t easy to move the ball against though, ranking second against the run this year, while the secondary has recorded nine interceptions.
Points in Short Supply
With both offences limited in some capacity and the weather set to make passing the ball tricky, this looks like being a tight, low-scoring encounter. Seven of a combined 11 Seattle and New Orleans’ games this season have seen the under land in the total points market and that looks the way to play this one with under 43.5 points priced at 8/11.
*All odds correct at time of writing