Thursday, November 19, 2020 – 8:20 PM ET at CenturyLink Field
NFL Betting Odds and Lines
For the second time in 2020, the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks are set to feature in primetime NFL football action. In week 7, the Cardinals eked out 37-34 victory over the Seahawks in overtime, coming from behind deliver the upset in the NFL odds as the +3.5 home underdogs.
For a second time in this matchup, the Cardinals are tipped as the underdogs, catching 3.5 points at early doors with multiple top-rated betting sites, despite coming off a stunning victory in week 10 over the Buffalo Bills. The Cardinals emerged triumphant in a 32-20 win to improve to 6-3-0 SU in the NFC West. The Seahawks, by contrast, are coming off a lacklustre 23-16 loss to divisional foes, Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium, marking their second loss in as many weeks to slip to a 6-3-0 SU record.
For the second time this season, the Cardinals are sat pretty at the top of the NFC West table. As it is, the NFC West features a three-way tie between the Cardinals, Seahawks and Rams with the former holding first-place by virtue of a 2-0 SU record in division action. The Cardinals beat the Niners 24-20 in week 1 and the Seahawks 37-34 in week 7. The Seahawks are 1-2 SU in division action with losses to the Cards and Rams and a win over the Niners, a run of form that has Pete Carroll’s side in third place.
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Cardinals Top NFC West Division After Week 10
Kyler Murray’s Hail Mary pass to DeAndre Hopkins in the final seconds to clinch the improbably 32-30 win over the Buffalo Bills is the most talked-about highlight of week 10 NFL betting, setting the sports world on fire. However, the unreal 43-yard touchdown thrown by Kyler Murray – and somehow caught by DeAndre Hopkins in the melee with three Bills defenders to deliver the miracle 32-30 win – was not the only highlight for the second-year quarterback on the day.
Not only did Murray throw THE Hail Mary pass of the season thus far, but he also became only the second player in the history of the NFL to reach 10 rushing TDs in his first ten games of the season (since 1950 when Johnny Lujack accomplished the feat). He also became the first quarterback in history to rush for a TD in five straight games.
It’s fair to say, Murray and Co. had a banner game against the Bills. The Cardinals rallied from a 23-9 deficit in the game with a solid second half in which offense, defense, and special teams rose to the occasion. Then, with less than 50 seconds left on the clock, they flipped the script on the Bills, who were up 30-26 on the Cardinals and looking all but assured to the victory.
Murray finished with 2 rushing TDs, Kenyan Drake cracked 100 yards rushing and Hopkins totted up 129 yards receiving. After the game, Murray admitted he’d never thrown a Hail Mary pass before, while DeAndre Hopkins said he’d never caught one, making it the best catch of his career. An emotional Kliff Kingsbury claimed he’d never been part of such a stunning play either.
Russell Wilson – Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images/AFP
Seahawks On Two-Game Losing Streak
Seahawks succumbed to their second straight loss of the season and third overall in their last four games, losing to the Los Angeles Rams on the road in week 10 – a game that was nowhere nearly as close as the NFL odds would have it. The upshot of which has the Seahawks slipping from top spot in the NFC West to third place, leaving many scratching their heads over a midseason slump that has come seemingly out of nowhere.
Merely a couple of weeks ago, the Seahawks looked to be amongst the top Super Bowl LV contenders going into the second half of the season. Similarly, Russell Wilson was a certified MVP frontrunner, one of the best bets on offer in the market.
That was two weeks ago, a lifetime ago in sports where a player and a team are only as good as their next game. In the last two laps around the league, the Seahawks have lost to both the Bills and Rams, both times by significant margins and with questionable play from its talisman, Russell Wilson.
The Seahawks closed as the 3-point road underdogs on the NFL odds board, but they weren’t as crisp in a 23-16 loss that saw the Seahawks score merely 3 points in the second half. Wilson, weighing in on the game in his post-game zoom presser, offered up his thoughts: “Sometimes you go up to the plate and you don’t have your way. That’s what it was today.”
To say the Seahawks didn’t get their way is an understatement. The Rams rendered Wilson a moot point, holding the Seahawks to just a field goal after the first-half ended 17-13 and forcing Wilson to cook up 3 turnovers in the process.
As it stands, Wilson has 2 TDS and 4 INTs in the last two games and he has committed 3-plus turnovers in back-to-back games, which is a first for the quarterback. He is more often credited with carrying the offense rather than sinking it. In the last four games, Wilson has 9TDs to 7 INTs, which includes 3 INTS in the overtime loss to the Cardinals.
Not only is Wilson showing strain under the weight of expectation, but compounding matters for Seattle is the fact that the defense remains the worst in the league, leaking points like a sieve.
Quarterback Kyler Murray #1 of the Arizona Cardinals on November 15, 2020 in Glendale, Arizona. Christian Petersen/Getty Images/AFP
NFL Betting Verdict:
It’s a quick turnaround for the Seahawks this week, meaning they don’t have a lot of time to figure out why their mired in a slump. Similarly, the Cardinals will need to come down from their high on Sunday quickly to refocus themselves for the task on hand.
Sports betting sites are taking an interesting stance by unanimously cornering this game with the hosts, despite the Cardinals coming off a winning deposit and the Seahawks coming off a losing account last week.
Instead of form, it is experience and homefield advantage that appear to be given deference on the NFL odds board, in a game that puts the NFC West title on the line. The Seahawks are typically a solid bet at home (they’re 4-0 SU at CenturyLink Field this season), while Wilson generally is the sort of quarterback in which NFL bettors have built trust.
That said, the Cardinals have enjoyed their fair share of success in Seattle, including a 27-13 win at CenturyLink Field last season. In their last five meetings with the Seahawks, the Cardinals are 4-1 SU on the road. As well, the Cardinals are 5-1 ATS in their last six meetings with the Seahawks and 5-0 ATS in their last five trips to CenturyLink Field.
To all intents and purposes, this game is a right coin-toss for NFL picks. It’s a divisional clash with a premium on the win. Seahawks have the pedigree and home-field advantage, but form and recent betting trends tip the scale towards the Cardinals. Push comes to shove, grabbing the points, and shading the Cardinals for NFL picks is the recommended play. However, if the Seahawks bounce back, it wouldn’t be surprising at all.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Restricted free agent forward Isaac Okoro has agreed to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers on a three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Okoro’s new deal is worth $38 million, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been signed or announced by the team.
ESPN.com first reported the agreement, citing Okoro’s representation.
The fifth overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, Okoro is Cleveland’s best perimeter defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the opponent’s top scorer. Okoro also has worked to improve his offensive game.
The 23-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 69 games — 42 starts — last season for the Cavs, who beat Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs before losing to eventual champion Boston.
Okoro shot a career-best 39% on 3-pointers, forcing teams to come out and guard him.
His agreement caps an extraordinarily busy summer for the Cavs that began with coach J.B. Bickerstaff being fired and replaced by Kenny Atkinson. All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell signed a three-year, $150 million extension in July, ending months of speculation that he wanted out of Cleveland.
Also, power forward Evan Mobley signed a five-year, $224 deal and center Jarrett Allen signed a three-year, $91 million extension.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
