NFL Picks 10/15 – Seattle Seahawks @ Cincinnati Bengals

NFL Picks 10/15 – Seattle Seahawks @ Cincinnati Bengals

by Thomas Quaynor for Wannamakeabet.com

The Seattle Seahawks (3-1) visit the Cincinnati Bengals (2-3) on Sunday afternoon at Paycor Stadium. Cincinnati is a 3-point favorite and the total is 45.5. Seattle had a bye last week after a 24-3 drubbing of the host New York Giants on October 2. Seattle tied a franchise-record with eleven sacks in the win, and also intercepted Daniel Jones twice, including a 97-yard interception return touchdown by rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon. Cincinnati is coming off a 34-20 win at Arizona last Sunday, Joe Burrow connected with Ja’Marr Chase for three touchdowns in the win. 

GAME STORYLINES

For 10 seasons (2012-2021) quarterback Russell Wilson experienced tremendous success in Seattle. He quarterbacked Seattle to two straight Super Bowl appearances, winning Super Bowl XLVIII (48) in February 2014 and narrowly losing to New England the following season. Wilson was selected to the Pro Bowl in 9 of his 10 seasons in Seattle and is the franchise leader in passing yards, passing touchdown, passing yards in a season and passing touchdowns in a season. In what was thought to be a rebuilding move, Seattle made the decision to part ways with Wilson after the 2021 season and start back-up journeyman quarterback Geno Smith. 

In March 2022, Seattle traded Russell Wilson to Denver in a trade package where they ended up getting 8 players (3 Broncos players and 5 draft picks) in return. Many believed Russell Wilson would be the final piece for a Denver run to the Super Bowl and Seattle would become a punching bag for every NFL team but the opposite has happened. Seattle made the playoffs last season and has gone 12-9 since the trade, while Denver has gone 6-16 over that span and become a laughingstock in the NFL. 

Another surprising development has been the fantastic play of Geno Smith. After spending his first 9 seasons with 4 teams struggling as a starter and then becoming a back-up, Geno Smith exploded back onto the scene in his first season as a starter for Seattle last year. In 2022, Smith passed for career-highs of 4,282 yards and 30 touchdowns, and was selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career. Last March, Seattle rewarded Geno Smith for his career year by signing him to a 3-year, $105 million extension. Smith’s outstanding play has continued this season as he’s thrown for 846 yards with 5 touchdowns to 1 interception through 4 games. 

Smith’s offensive weapons include second-year running back Kenneth Walker III (1,050 rushing yards, 9 touchdowns as a rookie in 2022), 25-year-old star wideout DK Metcalf, tight end Noah Fant and veteran wide receiver Tyler Lockett. The 6-foot-4 Metcalf is one of the more physically gifted wide receivers in the NFL, his production has gone down slightly with Smith at quarterback as opposed to Russell Wilson.

In what may end up being the biggest coup of the Russell Wilson trade was Seattle receiving Denver’s 2023 first round pick which ended up being the No. 5 pick due to Denver’s 5-12 finish. Seattle ended up selecting Illinois cornerback Devon Witherspoon with the pick and he’s made an immediate impact as a rookie. Witherspoon already has 23 tackles, 2 sacks and an interception return touchdown through 4 games and is on track to become one of the top corners in the NFL for years to come.

After concluding one of the most prolific seasons in college football history at LSU in 2019 (5,671 passing yards, 60 touchdowns to 6 interceptions, 15-0 record, National Championship), quarterback Joe Burrow was selected number one overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2020 draft. Cincinnati had been one of the worst franchises in all of sports. Prior to Burrow’s arrival, Cincinnati’s last playoff win was in January 1991 and their last Super Bowl appearance was in January 1989. Burrow has almost singlehandedly resurrected the Bengals franchise in his first 3 seasons as the Bengals made the Super Bowl in his second season and advanced to the AFC Championship game last season.

Another season-ending knee injury cut short Joe Burrow’s rookie year after 10 games, he showed the reason why he was one of the most hyped quarterback college prospects of all time in his second and third years. In addition to leading the Bengals to unprecedented playoff success in back-to-back seasons, Burrow threw for 4,611 yards with 34 touchdowns to 14 interceptions in 2021 and 4,475 yards with 35 touchdowns to 12 interceptions last year. Burrow has gotten off to a slow start in 2023 due to a calf injury but he appears to be rounding back into form after last week’s 34-20 win at Arizona. He went 36-46 for 317 yards with 3 touchdowns and an interception in the win, it was his best game of the young season by far. 

Burrow’s favorite target is wide receiver and former LSU teammate Ja’Marr Chase. In last week’s win at Arizona, Chase caught a franchise-record 15 catches, along with 192 yards and 3 touchdowns. The 23-year-old, third year superstar Chase is one of the top wideouts in the NFL and is on pace for another big season. Versatile running back Joe Mixon is also a key player in the offense whether its running the ball or catching passes from Burrow out of the backfield. Pro Bowl defensive end Trey Hendrickson (17 tackles, 6 sacks, 1 forced fumble this season) anchors the defense. He recorded 2.5 sacks in last week’s win at Arizona and has 35.5 sacks over the past 3 seasons. 

THE PICK

It looks like Burrow’s calf is close to 100% so Cincinnati should be ready to take off, Lay the 3 points…Cincinnati 31, Seattle 23