Free Picks: Seattle Seahawks vs Washington Football Team

The Seahawks (9-4) have a top-10 offense and a bottom-five defense, while the Football Team (6-7) has a top-10 defense and a bottom-five offense. Seattle has been better over the course of the full year, but Washington has posted four consecutive straight up wins — including three as an underdog. A pair of Washington injuries might be a factor, but for now the Football Team is an intriguing underdog.

We won’t go as far as likening this to the “unstoppable force versus immovable object” moniker, but Seattle’s offense (third in scoring, sixth in total yards) and Washington’s defense (sixth in scoring, fourth in total yards) have been equally stellar this season.

Likewise, Seattle’s defense (27th in total yards) and Washington’s offense (30th in total yards) have been comparably putrid. This one could get interesting.

For now, the Seahawks are the 5.5-point favorites (-110 at 888Sport) on various betting sites. There are two major injury storylines to follow on Washington’s side that could change that.

Quarterback Alex Smith and running back Antonio Gibson are both questionable for Sunday’s game. Smith missed the latter half of last week’s game due to calf tightness, while Gibson has been out since suffering a toe injury early in a Dec. 7 game against the Steelers. Smith reportedly could’ve re-entered last week’s game if needed, so the concern shouldn’t be too high on that front. But Gibson, who didn’t practice last week, is likely headed for another absence.

The strength of Washington’s current four-game win streak (three of which have come as ATS underdogs) is the defense, led up front by rookie sensation Chase Young.

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was sacked more than anyone else in the NFL last season (48 times) and has already been dropped 40 times this year, so he’ll have his hands full with Young, one of four Football Team players who has at least five sacks this year.

Seattle’s offense broke out in a major way last week in a 40-3 win, but that came against the winless Jets. Before that, the Seahawks averaged fewer than 20 points per game over a four-game stretch.

With some injuries on Washington’s offense — and concern about the pressure Wilson will face from Washington’s defense — we like this game to fall under 44 points (-106 at 888Sport). We also like the Football Team to cover for a fifth-straight game.

• Seattle is 4-6 ATS in its past 10
• The UNDER has cashed in seven of the Seahawks’ past 10 games
• Washington is 7-3 ATS in its past 10 games
• The UNDER has cashed in seven of the Football Team’s past nine games