NFL Playoff Predictions – Saints Big Road Favorite vs Seattle

Our NFL playoff predictions for Saturday involve a rather rare occurrence, because the New Orleans Saints are a double-digit road favorite in the opening round against the Seattle Seahawks, in a game that begins at 4:30 PM ET at Qwest Field (artificial turf) in Seattle. In the football betting odds on this game, the Saints are favored by ten points, with the total on the game posted at 44 points.

New Orleans Saints (11-5 SU, 6-10 ATS) at Seattle Seahawks (7-9 SU & ATS)
Live at Qwest Field
Seattle, WA
Saturday, January 8 -  4:30 PM ET
TV:  NBC

Odds for NFL Playoff Predictions:
New Orleans -10
Seattle +10
Total  44

If you watched the Seattle Seahawks slog their way through to a win over St. Louis last Sunday to get into the NFL playoffs, you’d think you were looking at a team that was several notches down form a club that is an eleven-game winner and is launching a defense of its Super Bowl championship. That much may be true, but you better think about it before you lay double digits with the Saints in your NFL playoff prediction. .

[Off topic: by the way, do you want to get a 55% bonus on your first deposit here at BetOnline? If so JOIN NOW.]

Granted, the Saints did defeat Seattle with a relative amount of comfort at the Superdome on November 21 (34-19). Drew Brees threw four TD passes, and he didn’t have the benefit of Reggie Bush, Pierre Thomas or Jeremy Shockey in the lineup. The Seahawks are a 7-9 team, and they have demonstrated the ability to get beat by a lot of points on their home field by good teams. They were, in fact, ripped by the Giants (41-7), Chiefs (42-24) and Falcons (34-18).

So does this take care of it? Hmmm, I’m not sure about that.

Here are some of the trends we use as we make our NFL playoff predictions:

·       New Orleans has covered two of its last six games
·       New Orleans has won seven of its lats nine games SU
·       New Orleans has won five of its last six road games SU
·       New Orleans has covered four of its last 12 road games
·       Seattle has played eight of its last nine games OVER the total
·       Seattle has lost five of its last seven games SU
·       Seattle has covered two of its last seven games
·       Seattle has played four of its last five home games OVER the total

The Seahawks did not necessarily demonstrate a whole lot of improvement under Pete Carroll this season, although once they have gotten to the p[layoffs, the presence of the former USC coach, which reduces tension and emphasizes the positives, may be a plus. It’s a bit of a contrast from Jim Mora Jr., who was a little more hard-driving. Speaking of positives, one of them is that they have Matt Hasselbeck available again. Don’t get us wrong; Hasselbeck has not had the greatest season, and he has more interceptions than he does touchdown passes, but he also has more experience in the playoffs than any other quarterback in the NFC, which means something when making an NFL playoff prediction. And in the earlier meeting with New Orleans, he completed 32 of 44 passes, for 366 yards, his highest total since the 2004 season. Seattle gained 424 yards in the game.

Drew Brees has pout up numbers, and he makes all the plays, as we all know, but he has not his best season either. He’s thrown 33 TD’s, but also 22 interceptions, and he has put the ball on the ground by way of fumbling nine times. Not having Pierre Thomas in the game will be more of a liability than it was before, because Chris Ivory is also out, and it will force him to air more frequently. Everyone is aware that the crowd noise at Qwest Field can get a team rattled, especially IF the Seahawks are in the game at the time.

Fundamentally, you won’t find many edges for Seattle. but the Seahawks are going to be a better running team this time around, because the can shuttle fresh backs Justin Forsett, Marshawn Lynch and Leon Washington into the game. At least they SHOULD be able to run. Home dogs have covered 11 of the last 14 in the playoffs. The crowd should be in this game from the start. And guess what – the Saints have NEVER won a playoff game as the visiting team. EVER. We won’t make it a big play, but we will take points in our NFL playoff prediction.

JAY’S PLAY:  SEATTLE +10 **

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

Make your NFL playoff predictions and bet them right now at BetOnline Sportsbook!