Can the Seahawks win without Wilson?
The Seahawks will play their first home game without Russell Wilson and the New Orleans Saints are not an easy opponent. Especially defensively the Saints are very good so far and allow only 18.2 points per game – fourth best in the whole NFL.
So backup quarterback Geno Smith will have his work cut out for him. In his first game in over two years, he didn’t do badly at all last weekend against the Steelers, even if the game-deciding fumble was his fault in the end.
The question for Monday will be how well the Hawks have already come to terms with the new situation and with Geno Smith as their leader, and whether they can conjure up a game plan that suits him. One thing is clear, though: it won’t work without defence.
Since Seattle is clearly behind New Orleans defensively this season, our prediction for Seahawks vs. Saints is a success for the away team. However, this could turn out to be closer than most experts expect. The Seahawks are not that bad with Smith.
Kickoff of the Monday Night Game is on Tuesday night at 02:15 in Seattle. The game will be broadcast live by DAZN.
Seattle Seahawks – Statistics & current form
Quo Vadis Seattle? The Seahawks are facing some difficult weeks. With Russell Wilson on the IR list after his finger book and out for at least another five weeks, the playoffs are likely out of reach this season.
So it begs the question of the extent to which the season should be ditched, and instead aiming for a high draft pick. However, with Head Coach Pete Carroll’s winning mentality, we are not likely to see that scenario in Seattle.
All eyes on the defense
So he will have to try to cobble together a sensible game plan that on the one hand promotes the strengths of new quarterback Smith, but at the same time also takes as much of the load off him as possible. Running game and defence are the magic words here.
Something has to happen on defence, as the Hawks still allow the most yards of any NFL team with 433.2. Especially against the run, the statistics read catastrophic with 140.8 yards allowed.
We assume, however, that this is exactly what the Seahawks have been focusing on in recent days. So they will most likely approach the game against New Orleans more defensively. A high-scoring game can therefore not be expected.
Will Collins be fit in time?
As far as the running game is concerned, a lot depends on the personnel of Alex Collins. He was not able to practice again until Friday. Nevertheless, it is assumed that he can be in the line-up on Monday, after all he has one more day to recover.
Should he be in, he should be a good tool to gain yards, keep the offense on the field longer and thus take time off the clock. If he drops out, betting on the Saints is the only possible outcome in Seattle vs. New Orleans.
Key Players:
QB: Geno Smith
RB: Alex Collins
WR: Tyler Lockett
WR: DK Metcalf
K: Jason Myers
New Orleans Saints – stats & current form
The Saints are in a half rebuild. So actually only on one position, but since this is also the most important with the quarterback, we can already speak of upheaval. Accordingly, they are difficult to assess this season.
Superior victories like against the Packers or Patriots alternate with embarrassing defeats like against the Giants. Of course, a lot has to do with the inconsistency of the new starting quarterback Jameis Winston. His performances oscillate between world class and county class.
Winston stabilises
Surprisingly, the word world class hits home more often this season than it did during his years with the Buccaneers. He seems to have gained quite a bit of experience.
With a passer rating of 108.1, Winston is even among the top 5 quarterbacks in the NFL in this category. So the QB duel on Monday should clearly go to the Saints. Since we also rate them stronger defensively, they are also considered the favourites.
Little total points expected
Not only the bookmakers but also we do not expect a high scoring game overall, which makes betting on New Orleans difficult in general. A fumble or an interception is enough to turn a clear 17:7 into a 17:14 and destroy all handicap bets.
Thus, the odds on another bet are the most interesting for us with Seahawks vs. Saints. On no team scoring three times in a row. This is a very good betting option due to the conditions and the few points expected.
Key Players:
QB: Jameis Winston
RB: Alvin Kamara
WR: Marquez Callaway
TE: Adam Trautman
K: Aldrick Rosas
Seattle Seahawks – New Orleans Saints Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
The Saints won the last meeting in Seattle. However, of the last five duels, four have been decided within one score. But we have to keep in mind that in the last few games the duel was always Wilson vs. Brees.
Neither of these two will play on Monday, which is why we get a completely new matchup. The Saints should be able to win this one in the end. However, we don’t expect a blowout win, especially in Seattle.
If the Seahawks lose, it would be the first time in decades that they start the season with three home losses. It will probably come down to that, though, which is why win bets on New Orleans are among our recommendations in addition to under-point bets.
Seattle Seahawks – New Orleans Saints Tip
There is more to be said for New Orleans than Seattle in Seahawks vs Saints. This is a fact that all Hawks fans have to face and thus a 2-4 start to the season is also a very likely scenario.
However, since we expect a fairly close game, a big play by their defence could also cause a surprise. It would be about time that they also managed something positive. There are some uncertainties in this game.
For us, a back-and-forth bet on the Seahawks against the Saints is the best option. In other words, no team should score three times in a row without the other team putting at least one score on the board.
As another betting recommendation, we are advocating betting odds on the tip between the Seahawks and the Saints in favour of New Orleans at this point. Even though Seattle will try everything not to lose their third home game in a row, we do not expect them to succeed.
