In the Russell Wilson era, the Seattle Seahawks have been considered a force to be reckoned with in the NFL. For the past few seasons, the Seahawks have usually found themselves in the upper echelon of teams in the league, especially with Las Vegas.
Every year since 2012 – Wilson’s rookie season – Seattle has been the favorite in at least nine regular-season games for early betting odds. But this trend is coming to a screeching halt for 2018. Warren Sharp, founder of Sharp Football Analysis, has the Seahawks favored in only three games, which is six games lower than the previous lowest mark in the past seven seasons.
The only games the Seahawks are favored in are home contests against Dallas (-1.5), San Francisco for Sunday Night Football (-1.0), and Kansas City for Sunday Night Football as well (-3.0). The Week Nine showdown with the Los Angeles Chargers is listed as a “pick’em” game, where the outcome could go either way.
Monday Night Football in Chicago and an early season trip to Arizona are the only two road games where Seattle won’t be an outright underdog. Both games are “pick’em’s” as well.
Seattle will be the biggest underdogs they’ll be all season when they face the Rams in Los Angeles, who will be favored to win by a touchdown.
The fact Seattle is favored in only three games – all of which are within three points – shows Vegas isn’t putting a lot of faith into the Seahawks offseason reset. However, it should also be noted the Seahawks aren’t heavy underdogs in any of their contests. Aside from a road trip to the Rams, all of the games Seattle is an underdog in are between one point and three and a half points.
It’s evident that while Vegas may not consider the Seahawks an elite team, they still see them as a highly competitive one which should put up a fight each week. With good reason, too. In the Wilson era, the Seahawks have lost a regular season game by more than ten points only three times.
