NFL Week 8: Jacksonville Jaguars at Seattle Seahawks Betting Preview

The Jacksonville Jaguars had to leave the United States to get their first win of the 2021 campaign, as they prevailed over an increasingly moribund Miami Dolphin team in London two weeks ago, 23-20. That sent the Jaguars into their bye week, and now they have another long airplane ride ahead of them as they take on the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday afternoon. The Seahawks have seen their defense take on a lot of water over the season, and the loss of Russell Wilson until at least Week 11 means that Geno Smith is running the offense. The defense has stepped up a bit, particularly in the Monday night loss to New Orleans, when the Saints only managed 13 points. The Seattle O only put up 10, though, and you won’t win in the NFL that way. Calls are coming for Pete Carroll to step down and for the team to enter an organizational rebuild. Can Seattle hold off the Jaguars?

Check out our NFL betting thoughts on this game.

NFL Preview: Jacksonville Jaguars at Seattle Seahawks (Sunday, October 31)

When: Sunday, October 31, 2021, 4:05 pm ET
Where: Lumen Field, Seattle
TV: CBS
Radio: WJXL 1010 AM Jacksonville / KIRO 710 AM Seattle
Live Stream: Hulu
NCAA Odds: Seattle -3.5 / O/U 44 // Seattle -180 / Jacksonville +155

Why should you bet on the Jaguars?

Urban Meyer turned down the heat on his coaching seat with that win in London, and the ensuing bye week (and the scandal about the workplace culture at the Washington Football Team) has taken the nation’s attention away from Meyer’s decision not to fly back home with his team after that loss in Cincinnati, and instead to go to a bar where he looked very close to a much younger woman. So at least for now, Jacksonville is back to being a promising, up-and-coming team.

Trevor Lawrence has put up a quarterback passer rating between 92 and 97 in three straight games. He was making genius-level throws in the opener, but he was also making some dreadful mistakes. The mistakes are decreasing, as he is learning more and more about the speed of the pro game — but the genius-level throws are still there. Jacksonville just snapped a losing streak that had reached 20 games; they did not look elite by any means, but they did manage to pull off a win against a struggling team, and Seattle is another struggling team.

Why should you put your money on the Seahawks?

Geno Smith is a decent pocket passer, but if you make him move around in the pocket, or throw on the run, his accuracy decreases significantly. That is one of the biggest differences between Smith and Russell Wilson. In their last three games, the Seahawks are averaging 15.7 points per game, and in Week 7, Smith’s completion rate was below 55 percent. He had an 84-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass to D.K. Metcalf in the early going against New Orleans; without that one huge gain, his numbers would have been dreadful.

Seattle’s defense should be able to stand up against a Jacksonville running game that has some limitations, and the pass rush should be able to bother Trevor Lawrence enough to force a mistake or two. However, the offense has to find ways to put up more than 10 points if the team is to stand a chance. The Seahawks face the pressure of expectations, while the Jaguars really are playing with house money at this point, in the first year of that rebuild.

Final Score and Betting Prediction

I’m not sure what to expect out of Seattle this week. The defense had maximum effort going against New Orleans and could show signs of emotional fatigue this week, especially if the offense has some early three-and-outs. Jacksonville has the ability to burn the Seattle defense down the field if Lawrence will stand in against pressure and make throws. I predict a final score of Jacksonville 17, Seattle 13.

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