Sports

CJ Prosise to clip Cardinals wings

RedZone Sports’ Steve Baumohl with his best bets for this week’s NFL action

Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals

Friday 1.25am

Seattle travel south to the desert after suffering a devastating loss to Washington.

However, if you were to take a closer look at that game, you’d probably conclude that the wrong team lost.

The Seahawks dominated the Redskins from start to finish but were the architects of their own destruction by committing 16 penalties (which amounted to 138 yards!).

Whilst their defense is still strong, the offense remains inconsistent and they won’t find it easier against a stingy Cardinals defense.

Arizona just beat the 49ers but facing CJ Beathard is a completely different prospect to facing Russell Wilson. The quarterback’s improvisation when a play breaks down and his performance under pressure is the best in the league.

The return of CJ Prosise could also prove to be pivotal, as Arizona have shown a weakness against pass-catching backs. However, the area where I feel the game will be won or lost centres around how well the Cardinals’ offensive line protect Drew Stanton.

The Seahawks pass rush have suddenly come alive and dropping Stanton back may not be their best design for this game. I expect Arizona to lean on Adrian Peterson a lot in this game and with Seattle’s offense struggling to get into rhythm, I think points will be at a premium.

Los Angeles Chargers at Jacksonville Jaguars

Sunday 6pm

Gus Bradley returns to North Florida where he’ll be hoping to get one over his old team.

Bradley, a great defensive coordinator, just couldn’t turn the talent in Jacksonville into meaningful production whilst he was their head coach.

It’s only natural that the Jaguars’ organisation needed a management shake-up to see how good they could be, but Bradley won’t be outdone.

He has quietly turned the Chargers into a strong defensive team and although they were unlucky to lose in Foxborough, they held Tom Brady and company to just one touchdown.

The Jags are a feel-good story right now and that’s purely down to their stingy playmaking defense.

Perhaps the only team that can match their scary front and secondary are the Chargers. Both Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram are racking up sacks, while the tandem of Casey Heyward and Trevor Williams are also playing at a very high level.

Both teams will try to run the ball to take advantage of the other team’s weakness at defending the run.

That’s likely to keep the clock ticking and we’ll happily take the under on total points.

New Orleans Saints at Buffalo Bills

Sunday 6pm

New Orleans are quietly becoming an NFC power and are leading the South division.

Yes, they do have a future Hall of Famer in Drew Brees, but this season they’re doing things a little differently than in years gone by. They are very committed to the running game and have drastically reduced their pass volume.

As the Saints travel to Buffalo, they’re likely to again de-emphasise the pass and highlight their dynamic backfield duo of Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara.

The Jets just ran all over the Bills last Thursday night, and Sean Payton will be looking to use his talented backs in the same way. Don’t let the final Bills score last week fool you either – they scored 14 points in the last four minutes when New York were comfortably up.

The Saints’ front seven have improved every week and with a rising star in cornerback Marshon Lattimore, they can restrict the Bills offense.

POINTERS

Seattle v Arizona – Under 42 points 25/28

CJ Prosise to score anytime 5/2

LA v Jacksonville – Under 41 points 10/11

New Orleans -2.5 v Buffalo 10/11

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