Seattle (2nd – NFC WEST) at Washington (4th – NFC EAST) at FedEx Field KICK OFF – 8:30 PM ET
The reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks will be visiting the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland on Monday Night Football this October 6. Seattle heads into the contest with a 2-1 record after taking last week off with a bye. Their last game came a couple of weeks ago in a Super Bowl rematch with the Denver Broncos. The Seahawks blew a late lead, but managed to win the game in overtime. The Redskins come into the encounter with a 1-3 record after being hammered 45-14 by the New York Giants in week four.
NFL Betting Line from Bovada:
Spread: Seattle (-7.5) at -115, Washington (+7.5) at -105
Over/Under: 45.5 points – Over -105, Under -115
Money Line (to Win): Seattle -340, Washington +270
Head to Head: Seattle is 3-1-1 ATS in their past five meetings
Match up Summary:
Seattle comes into the game at 2-1 after having a bye last week while Washington enters the fray at 1-3 after losing 45-14 against the New York Giants last weekend for their second defeat in a row. The Redskins QB Kirk Cousins was picked off four times against New York and the defense was a shambles. They’re in tough against Seattle and will need to keep an eye on the Seahawks’ Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch.
Seattle Seahawks:
Overall Record: 2-1
Record Against the Spread (won-lost-push): 2-1-0
Home Record: 2-0
Away Record: 0-1
Over/Under Record: 2-1-0
Key Injuries:
Zach Miller, TE – Out – ankle – Week to week
Jeremy Lane, DB – Out – groin – Return Week 11?
Christine Michael, RB – Probable – hamstring – Likely will play
Tharold Simon, DB – Out – knee surgery – Return Week 5?
Bruce Irvin, LB – Questionable – ribs – Likely will not play
Eric Pinkins, DB – PUP – foot – Return Week 7?
Kam Chancellor, DB – Probable – ankle – Will play
Jesse Williams, DL – I.R – knee – Out for season
Anthony McCoy, TE – I.R – achilles – Out for season
David Gilreath, WR – I.R
Kevin Pierre-Louis, LB – Probable – hamstring – Will play
Garrett Scott, T – PUP – Out for season
D’Anthony Smith, DL – I.R –
Heath Farwell, LB – I.R – groin – Out for season
Seattle’s lone loss came against the San Diego Chargers in week two and they were taken to the limit by Denver, but pulled it out in overtime with a game-winning 80-yard drive orchestrated by third-year quarterback Russell Wilson. So far this season Wilson has tosses six TD passes and has a completion ratio of 69 per cent with just one interception. He hasn’t had the best protection this season though and that will have to be addressed before the game in Washington since the Redskins possess a good pass rush.
Offensively, the Seattle running game has been pretty good with Marshawn Lynch averaging slightly more than 4.5 yards per carry this campaign along with three touchdowns. He also scored the game winner against Denver. Seattle’s pass defense has been hit for an average of 249 yards a game so far and it was up against some good quarterbacks in Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, and Philip Rivers. The Seahawks will be up against QB Kirk Cousins on Monday and he struggled in his last outing against the Giants. Seattle’s defensive line has played well by allowing just 72.3 yards against per game, which ranks fourth-best in the league.
Washington Redskins:
Overall Record: 1-3
Record Against the Spread (won-lost-push): 2-2-0
Home Record: 1-1
Away Record: 0-2
Over/Under Record: 3-1-0
Key Injuries:
Trent Williams, T – Out – knee – Day-to-day
Niles Paul, TE – Out – concussion – Week to week
Jarvis Jenkins, DL – Out – ribs – Status uncertain
DeSean Jackson, WR – Questionable – shoulder – Likely will play
Shawn Lauvao, G – Out – knee – Likely will not play
DeAngelo Hall, DB – I.R – achilles – Out for season
Duke Ihenacho, DB – I.R – heel – Out for season
Jordan Reed, TE – Out – hamstring – Week to week
Robert Griffin III, QB – Out – ankle – Out 6-8 weeks
Chris Neild, DL – I.R – knee surgery – Out for season
Barry Cofield, DL – Out – ankle – Return Week 10?
Kai Forbath, K – Questionable – groin – Likely will play
Courtney Bridget Jr., DB – I.R – shoulder – Out for season
Tanard Jackson, DB – Suspended – Suspended indefinitely
Tracy Porter, DB – Out – hamstring – Week to week
Kory Lichtensteiger, G – Questionable – groin – Likely will play
Akeem Jordan, LB – Out – knee – Week to week
Stephen Bowen, DL – PUP – knee surgery – Return Week 7?
Leonard Hankerson, WR – PUP – knee surgery – Return Week 7?
Kedric Golston, DL – Out – groin – Week to week
Cousins has been inconsistent with Washington since taking over for the injured Robert Griffin III. He shone against the Philadelphia Eagles in his first start with three touchdowns and 427 yards. However, against the Giants he threw four interceptions. He’s played just 11 games during his NFL career and has been intercepted 15 times while throwing for 14 touchdowns. He’ll need to be at his best against Seattle and he might also be missing tight end Niles Paul as he was diagnosed with a concussion in the Giants game. Niles has 227 yards this season along with 17 receptions.
Washington still has some good receivers though in Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson. Garcon has 255 yards and 24 receptions while Jackson has made 15 catches and gained 207 yards. Both Jackson and Garcon will be trying to exploit Seattle cornerback Byron Maxwell as he’s been struggling. Washington’s secondary also needs to play better since Eli Manning lit it up for four touchdowns and 300 yards while Philadelphia Eagles’ QB Nick Foles had three TD passes and 325 yards. The secondary has been hurting with cornerback DeAngelo Hall out for the season.
Washington’s defensive strongpoint is their pass rush. The Redskins sacked Jacksonville Jaguars’ QB Chad Henne 10 times two weeks ago. However, they’ve managed just one since. To be successful they’re going to have to get on Wilson as much as possible, but that’s going to be tough to accomplish, even at home.
