Cardinals-Seahawks rematch: Enter FOX’s free contest for chance at $25K

My first foray into the FOX Bet $25,000 Super 6 Thursday contest was a partial success. I was correct on two of the questions in last week’s Colts-Titans game — hitting the final score range and the exact number of touchdown scorers. I fell 5 yards short of a third winner — total passing yards for the two starting quarterbacks — as the Titans removed Ryan Tannehill for the final drive with the game out of hand. That one hurt.

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Those three categories, in addition to the one with the winner/margin of victory, are byproducts of your handicap of the game. If you can make an accurate prediction of the final score and how the game will be played, you have a good chance to be “right there” on all of those. The first two categories rely on game flow and, in the case of No. 2, the flip of a coin. But that’s what makes it fun.

So on to Thursday night’s game between the Cardinals and Seahawks in Seattle. Let’s try this again.

1. What will be the last scoring play of the first half be?

a) Cardinals TD
b) Cardinals FG
c) Seahawks TD
d) Seahawks FG
e) Any other score
f) No score

In the past two weeks, the 28 NFL games have seen 19 field goals and nine touchdowns be the final scoring play of the first half. “Field goal” definitely gives you the best odds. In Colts-Titans, I went with the longer range of Stephen Gostkowski, but the winner there came on a Rodrigo Blankenship chippie thanks to the flow of the game. There’s nothing you can do about that, but I believe the thought process was solid. In Week 10, first halves ended on a 57-yard field goal by Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell and 61-yarder by Seattle’s Jason Myers. The Cardinals’ Zane Gonzalez is 2 of 3 from 50+ yards with a long of 56 yards. Myers is 2 of 2 from 50+ yards including that bomb last week. You really can’t go wrong with either, but I figure there’s a bit less of a chance Myers would miss on his home turf, so he’s the choice.

2. How will the first TD of the third quarter be scored?

a) Cardinals passing
b) Cardinals rushing
c) Seahawks passing
d) Seahawks rushing
e) Any other TD
f) No TD

I’d have a better idea on this one if you can tell me which team will win the coin toss and choose to defer to the second half. In Week 10, this category saw six touchdown passes, five rushing TDs, one kickoff return and two games with no touchdowns in the third quarter. Not much help there. The Seahawks have scored 28 passing TDs and nine rushing TDs. The Cardinals have 17 touchdown passes and 15 rushing TDs, including 10 by Kyler Murray. He’s pretty impossible to stop near the goal line and I’m thinking he’s our guy.

3. How many total passing yards will Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson have in the game?

a) Less than 450 yards
b) 450-460 yards
c) 461-470 yards
d) 471-480 yards
e) 481-490 yards
f) 491+ yards

The two starting quarterbacks average 573.8 passing yards per game between them (Murray 263.9 and Russell Wilson 309.9). The defenses allow 603.1 passing ypg between them (Cardinals 249.8 and Seahawks an NFL-worst 353.3.) Only two things can keep this total from going over the highest option —  an injury to one of the quarterbacks and/or horrendous weather. The forecast for Thursday night is 43 degrees and dry with moderate winds.

4. How many different players will score a TD in the game?

a) 1-2
b) 3
c) 4
d) 5
e) 6+
f) No player scores a TD

The Over/Under for this game is 57 as of Thursday morning. The spread is Seattle -3. So the oddsmakers envision a final of Seattle 30-27, which would produce around seven touchdowns. The Cardinals have four players who have scored four TDs or more (Murray 10, Christian Kirk 6, Kenyan Drake and DeAndre Hopkins 4 each). The Seahawks offer D.K. Metcalf (8), and David Moore (4), with Tyler Lockett (7) and Chris Carson (3) listed as questionable to play due to injuries. Ten different Seahawks have caught TD passes. This one could max out, but I’m going to stick with my winning number of 5 from last week, figuring we’ll get multiple scores from two players.

5. How many total points will be scored in the game?

a) 40 or less
b) 41-45
c) 46-50
d) 51-55
e) 56-60
f) 61+

Even though I expect a big amount of passing yards and at least five touchdown scorers, my ultimate handicap of the game is guided by a couple of good trends. In prime-time games this season, underdogs and Unders are both 20-11 against the spread (h/t to VSiN’s Josh Appelbaum). I actually like that 30-27 score I mentioned before, with the Cardinals taking home the upset victory.

6. Players have to select Cardinals or Seahawks to win and the winning margin.

Cardinals by:

a) 1 to 2
b) 3 to 4
c) 5 to 6
d) 7 to 9
e) 10 to 14
f) 15+

Seahawks by:

a) 1 to 2
b) 3 to 4
c) 5 to 6
d) 7 to 9
e) 10 to 14
f) 15+

Seattle’s defense has been so bad, Wilson has had to be largely perfect to compensate. Early in the season his heroics amounted to a last-play win over the Patriots, a tougher-than-it-should have been victory over the Cowboys and a miracle win over the Vikings. But 5-0 with 19 TD passes and three interceptions has given way to 1-3 with nine TDs and seven interceptions for Wilson. He was intercepted three times in a 37-34 loss at Arizona on Oct. 25, and in a mild upset, the Cardinals can do it again. The “3 to 4 band” came through in three games last week, second only to 15+, which had four.