It wasn’t that long ago when the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos were facing each other in the Super Bowl. Today, both teams have some of the biggest question marks in the league. Will the Seahawks open up their season with a win? Or will the Case Keenum era in Mile High City kick off with a bang?
The Seahawks are +6,000 to win Super Bowl 53, while the Broncos have odds of +3,500 to be the last team standing this season.
Instead of rookie running back Rashaad Penny, the Seahawks will start second-year tailback Chris Carson in the backfield. Back in May, it would’ve been a stretch to think that Carson will be the Week 1 starter, considering that the Seahawks used a first-round pick to get Penny. But underperformance and a finger injury have diminished the stock of Penny heading into the new season. The Seahawks’ offense, however, will still begin and end with Russell Wilson, who passed for 3,983 yards, 34 touchdowns, and only 11 interceptions in 2017. He also led the team with 586 rushing yards.
Wide receiver Doug Baldwin is ready to go in Week 1, though, he has said that his ailing knee that limited him in training camp will never be 100 percent healthy this season – a bad sign for Seattle, which is already lacking in offensive weapons.
Seattle, which limited opponents to just 20.9 points per game last season, is 4-1-1 ATS in its last six contests away from home.
Betting on the Denver Broncos (-3)
There’s a new sheriff in the Broncos’ passing game, as Case Keenum takes over the quarterbacking duties for Denver after signing with the team in the offseason. Last year, Keenum threw for 3,547 yards and 22 touchdowns against only seven interceptions in 15 games for the Minnesota Vikings.
Another new guys is set to do the heavy lifting in the backfield for Denver, with rookie Royce Freeman emerging as the team’s No. 1 running back. The rookie out of Oregon had 84 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries in the preseason. The Broncos averaged 115.8 rushing yards per game last year, and could even be better this time around with Freeman on top of the depth chart.
Meanwhile, the Broncos’ defense is one that’s expected to deal plenty of damage in opposing teams’ pockets after drafting defensive end Bradley Chubb, who will be partnering with All-Pro Von Miller in bullying offensive linemen and blowing up quarterbacks. If the Seahawks’ offensive line remain as weak as it was in 2017, Wilson could be nothing more than a sitting duck in the eyes of Miller and Chubb. Last year, the Seahawks allowed 43 sacks — 11th most in the NFL.
The Broncos are 2-2 ATS in their last four games overall.
