Broncos vs. Seahawks Point Spread: NFL Week 1 Odds, Prediction
New Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson makes his return to Seattle in the first Monday night game of the 2022 NFL regular season. The Broncos are 6-point favourites to win on the NFL odds with a total of 43.0.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
This will be the debut of the new ESPN Monday night booth featuring Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, formerly the No. 1 team at Fox.
There were a lot of big-name players to switch teams this offseason, but no question the best quarterback on the move was future Hall of Famer Russell Wilson as he was traded from Seattle along with a 2022 fourth-round draft pick to Denver with the Broncos sending back a 2022 first-round pick, a 2022 second-round pick, a 2022 fifth-round pick, a 2023 first-round pick, a 2023 second-round pick, tight end Noah Fant, defensive end Shelby Harris and QB Drew Lock. Big haul, but most experts believe the Seahawks got fleeced because quarterbacks like Wilson don’t come along often.
The NFL schedule-makers must be an ironic bunch to have Wilson’s Denver debut come in Seattle because the Seahawks are expected to be terrible and probably wouldn’t be featured on a Monday night otherwise. Note that in previous years there was a Week 1 Monday doubleheader, but not this season.
It’s the first meeting between these franchises since the 2018 season opener in Denver, which was won by the Broncos 27-24. Wilson threw for 298 yards, three TDs and two picks. Case Keenum was the Denver QB that day and is long gone from the organization. So is Emmanuel Sanders, who had 10 catches for 135 yards and a touchdown.
Seattle is 3-1-1 ATS in the past five meetings.
Denver Broncos
Wilson apparently will be ending his career in Denver as the team signed him to a five-year, $245 million contract extension last week with $165 million guaranteed. The deal will keep Wilson with the Broncos for seven seasons in total. Wilson had not missed a game in his career until sitting out three last year in Seattle with a finger injury. He still had a solid 103.1 rating in his 14 games, which was fifth-best in the league. Wilson lost a decent wideout to a season-ending injury early in camp in Tim Patrick, who had 55 catches for 734 yards and five TDs last year. That obviously hurts the depth, but the team is still solid there with Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler. Albert Okwuegbunam (33 catches, 330 yards, two TDs in 2021) takes over for the traded Fant as the No. 1 tight end.
The defence should be excellent led by second-year cornerback Patrick Surtain II. He will be a Pro Bowler for years. This will be the head coaching debut of former Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. Denver is 5-1 ATS in its past six September games.
Seattle Seahawks
In this writer’s opinion, the worst team in the NFC this season will either be Seattle, Atlanta or Chicago. The 2023 quarterback draft class is projected to be excellent so that could explain why the Seahawks didn’t choose one in this year’s draft. They absolutely will early next year and have all that extra capital from Denver if they need to move up. Veteran journeyman Geno Smith, with a 13-21 career record, won the starting QB job in camp over Lock as expected. If the Seahawks get off to a rough start (likely), I’d expect the 25-year-old Lock to take over so the team can fully evaluate if he has a future because Smith sure doesn’t.
Second-round rookie running back Kenneth Walker was very impressive in camp before suffering a hernia injury and he’s not likely for Week 1. Not only did Seattle say goodbye to one team legend this offseason in Wilson but also linebacker Bobby Wagner, himself a possible future Hall of Famer. The Seahawks are 5-2 ATS in their past seven September games.
DEN
SEA