DFS Thursday Night Football Preview: Cardinals vs Seahawks

Thursday Night Football Preview

Arizona Cardinals vs Seattle Seahawks

Seahawks -3 | O/U 57.5

Week 11 brings the Arizona Cardinals to Seattle to battle against the Seahawks in a division rivalry. These two teams are coming into this battle on opposite ends of spectrums when it relates to momentum. Seattle was just beaten by another division rival in the Los Angeles Rams, while the Arizona Cardinals are riding high after the last-second victory on the back of the “Hail Murrary” connection between Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins. This is the second matchup between these NFC West foes, in Week 7, Arizona pulled out the victory in overtime 37-34. Let’s break down how each team needs to approach this game to walk away with the victory in this crucial matchup.

DFS Tools & Popular Pages

How Do The Cardinals Win The Game?

The way to beat Seattle this year is through the air. As one of the most porous defenses in the NFL against the pass, this is how most teams attack them on the field. Arizona has a plethora of pass-catching options and a quarterback playing at an MVP level to succeed on the field against the Seahawks.

How Do The Seahawks Win The Game?

Seattle will have to rely on the arm of their MVP caliber quarterback, Russell Wilson. Their running backs are still coming off an injury and although the reports are trending upwards for Chris Carson and Carlos Hyde, one can never be sure due to the short week. Russell Wilson will have to target his number 2 wide receiver in this game as Patrick Peterson will be lining up against DK Metcalf, and the last time they played DK could only manage 2 catches for 23 yards. The thing to keep an eye on is if the second target will be David Moore or Tyler Lockett. Lockett landed on the injury report this week with a knee issue. If the Seahawks are without one of their big weapons Russel Wilson will have to produce some magic not only through the air but also on the ground as well to secure the victory.

How does this game break down for your DFS plays, let’s break down the players by position and find out.

Kyler Murray ($13,000)

Kyler Murray is having an amazing season so far. He hasn’t produced a game under 24 points in fantasy all season(on DraftKings). He is coming off an amazing Hail Mary finish to win a game. Even though he only threw for 245 yards with one touchdown and one interception, his legs made up for the decline last week with 60 rushing yards and two touchdowns. You’ll want to find a way to get him in your lineup, especially against one of the worst defenses in the league.

Russel Wilson ($11,800)

Russel Wilson is coming off a rough week where he didn’t throw for a touchdown and he had two interceptions. He also lost a fumble in last week’s contest as well. Before last week, Wilson also didn’t have a fantasy production that fell under 24 points(on DraftKings). Last time out against the Cardinals he had 35 points throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for over 80 yards. Russel Wilson should produce on this same level again, especially with his backfield banged up at this point in the season.

Kenyan Drake ($6,200)/ Chase Edmonds ($5,600)

Kenyan Drake returned from the dead last week and racked up 17 touches for 109 yards from scrimmage. Kenyan Drake has been a tough player to predict this season as his performances have been boom or bust for most of his matchups. Seattle is towards the bottom of the league in yards given up to running backs this season(631 yards) and for his price point, I would pivot away from Drake Thursday night.

Chase Edmonds’s “season” seems to have come and gone without most excitement. When Kenyan Drake went down with an injury, fantasy owners expected RB1 numbers. He has been average during that time frame. The plus for Chase Edmonds in this matchup is 6th worse against passing catching running backs(when it comes to reception totals), as running backs have a total of 58 catches against them. Last game against Seattle, Edmonds caught 7 passes for 87 yards, while adding another 58 on the ground. Combining the history against this time and the cheaper price point, this is my play out of this backfield for Thursday Night Football.

Chris Carson ($8,400)/ Carlos Hyde ($5,200)/ Travis Homer ($800)/ DeeJay Dallas ($600)

This backfield is something I am going to pivot from entirely. Chris Carson and Carlos Hyde, although reports are solid, are dealing with injuries. Travis Homer and DeeJay Dallas do not excite me enough and would need to fall into the end zone to really pay off. I would save my salary money and look elsewhere for players tonight. Last time out Russel Wilson was the leading rusher for the Seahawks, even though everyone was healthy, and I expect more of the same in this matchup.

DeAndre Hopkins ($10,800)/ Christian Kirk ($7,400)/ Larry Fitzgerald ($4,400)/ Andy Isabella ($2,000)

Deandre Hopkins is one of the best wide receivers in the league and he is priced accordingly due to that fact. Last week he caught seven of his 12 targets for 127 yards and hauled in that miraculous touchdown at the end of the game to help the Cardinals win. The last time he faced the Seahawks, Hopkins stat line was 10 for 103 yards and a touchdown. His connection with Kyler is unmatched this year and I believe you have to stack these two together in your lineup tonight.

Christian Kirk, Larry Fitzgerald, and Andy Isabella all represent different levels of wide receiver pieces you may want against this poor passing defense. If you want a safer floor, you will find a way to put Kirk in your line. If you want a home run play you would aim for Andy Isabella, however, be warned he is the fourth string wide receiver coming into this matchup and only had 1 catch for 7 yards against Seattle in Week 7.

Larry Fitzgerald at this point in his career is someone you do not involve in any of your fantasy lineups. He has too low of a floor, and not even upside to really bring potential to your team.

DK Metcalf ($10,200)/ Tyler Lockett ($9,400)/ David Moore ($4,800)

DK Metcalf is a plug and play every week, right? Well, take a quick breath and hold your horses because that’s not exactly true. Although he has had an amazing season, he is coming off a weak performance(2 catches for 28 yards). Also in week seven, he had 2 catches for 23 yards against Patrick Peterson and this Arizona defense. This was the infamous 200 yard game for Tyler Lockett, and even though that won’t happen again, I wouldn’t expect Metcalf to go crazy against the Cardinals.

Tyler Lockett is one of the big mystery’s leading into this game, He is coming in on the injury report and hasn’t participated in practice yet this week. He is a game-time decision and his price point should make him a pivot this week. Last year when Lockett was injured he wasn’t the same player for fantasy purposes and was used more as a decoy, you are better off rotating your money to other players this game.

David Moore can be a sneaky play, especially with Lockett’s injury looming over this game. If Lockett is out he should automatically be in your lineup. However, even if Lockett plays I would roll Moore into your lineup as he should see more targets with Metcalf drawing Peterson and Lockett hindered for the week.

Greg Olsen($3,600)/ Dan Arnold ($2,200)/ Will Dissly ($1,800)/ Jacob Hollister ($1,000)

This week I am lumping in the entire tight end core from both teams in the same section. These are not players I want in my lineup. If Tyler Lockett sits out on Thursday night, you can take a dart throw on one of these tight ends for Seattle falling in the endzone.

Zane Gonzalez ($4,200)/ Jason Myers(4,000)/ Cardinals D ($3,200)/ Seahawks D ($2,800)

This game could be a shootout between two high-powered offenses. This means you shouldn’t even look in the direction of either defense. You can take a dart throw with a kicker if you believe one team will stall out on their drives throughout the night. However both Russel Wilson and Kyler Murray are playing at an MVP level this season, so the price points of the kickers have me pivoting away from this position as well.

Prediction and Free DFS Head To Head Cash Lineup

Arizona Cardinals defeat the Seattle Seahawks 34-27

DFS Lineup

David Moore ($7,200) *CAPTAIN*
Chase Edmonds ($5,600)
Jacob Hollister ($1,000)
DeAndre Hopkins ($10,800)
Kyler Murray ($13,000)
Russel Wilson ($11,800)