Cardinals vs. Seahawks Score Prediction for NFL Week 9 (Can Arizona Cover in Gardner Minshew’s First Start?)

The defending champion Seattle Seahawks have fallen to .500 through the first eight weeks of the season, losing to the Chicago Bears on Monday night in Week 8.

Now, they’ll look to get back on track as double-digit favorites at home against a division opponent in the Arizona Cardinals. Seattle already has a win over Arizona this season, and it should take care of business with backup Gardner Minshew making his first start of the season.

Minshew is replacing the struggling Jacoby Brissett, and he led Arizona to a win over Dallas in Week 8. The Cardinals have been frisky, winning against both Los Angeles teams and the Cowboys to start the season at 3-5.

Do they have another upset in them against Seattle?

It's certainly possible with Sam Darnold (quad) out this week and Drew Lock making his second start of 2026. He threw for 235 yards and three scores in a spot start in Week 2 to beat this Arizona team.

All season long, the SI Betting team is predicting the final score of NFL games, a fun way to help bettors decide on spread, moneyline and total wagers each week. Plus, there are a few times where we’ll hit an exact score!

So, who has the edge in this NFC West clash? The odds tell us Seattle will win big as it looks to get back over .500. Here’s a look at my score prediction for Sunday.

Cardinals vs. Seahawks Odds, Spread and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread

Cardinals +8.5 (-115)
Seahawks -8.5 (-105)

Moneyline

Cardinals: +550
Seahawks: -800

Total

41.5 (Over -110/Under -110)

The total has dropped four points in this matchup with Minshew and Lock set to start, and the Seahawks have gone from 11.5-point favorites to 8.5-point favorites.

Cardinals vs. Seahawks Score Prediction

Each week, SI Betting’s Iain MacMillan picks every single game in his Road to 272 column, and he’s targeting the Cardinals as underdogs in this matchup on Sunday:

These kinds of spreads should be reserved for the worst teams in the NFL, and I don't think the Cardinals belong in that discussion, especially with Gardner Minshew at quarterback. Arizona has had the second-toughest schedule so far, yet is sitting with a 3-5 record. They also have some strong weapons on offense, including arguably the best tight end in football. Offensively, they rank 13th in the league in success rate and 19th in EPA per play.

The Cardinals' defense is certainly a bottom-10, borderline bottom-five unit, but I'm not so certain that the Seahawks can rack up points regardless. Outside of Jaxson Smith-Njigba, the Seahawks have nothing else to rely on offensively. Their run game is horribly inefficient, and Sam Darnold has taken a step back compared to a season ago.

I'll take Arizona to cover this massive number.

With such a low total, it’s hard to see Seattle winning this game by nine or more points, especially since the offense has been below average in 2026, ranking 24th in EPA/Play and 21st in success rate.

Seattle still has one of the best defenses in the league, and I don’t expect Minshew to find the magic he did against a porous Dallas defense.

I like the Seahawks to get a bounce-back win at home, but I wouldn't lay this many points with them since they’re just 1-2-2 against the spread at Lumen Field in 2026.

Final Score Prediction: Seahawks 23, Cardinals 16

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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