NFL

NFL Week 7 Primetime Preview

I will be previewing the Sunday Night Football matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals, as well as the Monday Night Football matchup between the Houston Texans and the Denver Broncos.  Let’s get started.

5:30 PM PT NBC ARI -1.0

Seahawks

(4-1, 1-1 away)

4-1

Cardinals

(3-3, 2-2 Home)

How Seattle Wins:  The Seahawks need to play good defense, and get another big game out of Russell Wilson.  Force Arizona to run the football, shut down David Johnson, and get Carson Palmer to make a mistake or two.  If the Seahawks can get to Palmer than this contest should be over in no time.

How Arizona Wins:  There’s a reason why John Gruden said that David Johnson is one of the more underrated players in the NFL today.  That guy can definitely haul bananas, and the Cardinals definitely need to feed him the football to take some of that pressure off of Carson Palmer.  If Arizona wins the turnover battle, they should take care of business here.

The Bottom Line:  There is something about Carson Palmer that is a little off this year.  I don’t think Arizona is the team they were last season, and I will be very surprised to see them win this one.  Seattle wins and keeps their streak in the desert alive with four straight wins dating back to 2013.

5:30 PM PT ESPN DEN -8.5

Texans

(4-2, 0-2 away)

4-2

Broncos

(4-2, 2-1 Home)

How Houston Wins:  Brock Osweiler needs to play the way he did in the 4th quarter and overtime against the Colts.  He should have a chip on his shoulder after the Broncos offered him less money, so expect a lot of gun slinging in this one.  With that being said though, balance is key, and running the ball well with Lamar Miller should pay dividends for the Texans as well.

How Denver Wins:  Rush the passer.  As long as Von Miller is able to stay in Osweiler’s face all game, the Broncos will more than win this one.  They have some quarterback issues, so expect a lot of targeting to Demaryius Thomas, and rushing with C.J. Anderson.   Also this goes without being said but DO NOT let DeAndre Hopkins get open.  He is a nightmare to cover and should be neutralized immediately.

The Bottom Line:  I am going with the Texans in this one.  I know this is going against every logical center of my brain, but seeing Osweiler almost singlehandedly win that game against the Colts showed me that he may actually be able to do this.  Denver doesn’t have the offensive firepower to win consistently right now, and that’ll get exposed tomorrow.

Hope everyone had a good weekend.  I am 62-43 on the year.  Let’s keep it up.