Week 11 gets kicked off with a bang Thursday night when the Green Bay Packers (4-4-1) travel to CenturyLink Field to take on the Seattle Seahawks (4-5). At 4-4-1, the Packers sit behind both the Chicago Bears (6-3) and the Minnesota Vikings (5-3-1) in the NFC North, but are still within striking distance with several games to go. For the Seahawks, their division is a little more out of reach. Even though they are currently in second place in the NFC West, the division-leading Los Angeles Rams sit at 9-1. Neither of these two teams has lived up to expectations this year, but with several weeks left in the season, they are both hoping that they can make a push to the playoffs. Kickoff for this one is scheduled for 8:20 pm ET.
The point spread comes in with the Seattle Seahawks being a modest 2.5-point favorite at home. The over/under on total points scored is set at 49 points.
By The Numbers
Statistically, these two teams match up pretty well. On the defensive side, they rank 11th and 12th in yards given up as the Packers are 11th giving up an average of 345.9 yards per game while the Seahawks are 12th giving up 346.9 yards. In terms of points given up per game, the Seahawks are 9th allowing 21.3 points while the Packers are 16th at 25.1.
On the offensive side, the Packers and Seahawks are still neck and neck as the Packers are scoring an average of 24.8 points per game (good for 13th) and the Seahawks are scoring 24.3 points per game (good for 15th). One area that there has been a disparity is in total offense per game. The Packers rank 7th gaining an average of 403.2 yards per game while the Seahawks rank 22nd, gaining an average of 348.1 yards.
Packers Looking To Move Above .500
While the Packers have not played as well as they would have liked, you can never count out Aaron Rodgers, giving the Packers a chance as the season moves through the second half. On the season, Rodgers has thrown for 2,741 yards, 17 touchdowns, and just one interception. While the pick numbers have been good, he has taken 25 sacks on the season.
The leading receivers for Rodgers have been Davante Adams (62 catches, 787 yards, 9 touchdowns) and Jimmy Graham (33 catches, 439 yards, 2 touchdowns). On the ground, the Packers have been led by Aaron Jones, who has gone for 494 yards and 4 touchdowns on 73 carries.
Defensively, the Packers have been led by Blake Martinez (52 tackles), Kenny Clarke, and Kyler Fackrell with 5 sacks each, and a trio of defensive players with one interception apiece.
Seahawks Looking To Move To .500
It has been a rough two weeks for the Seahawks. They have gone 0-2, but have lost each game by 8 points or less. Last week, it was a 36-31 loss to the Rams. The Seahawks will look to turn it around this week and will turn to quarterback Russell Wilson to lead them. On the season, Wilson has thrown for 1,967 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions, while taking 29 sacks. Wilson has also rushed 33 times for 210 yards.
His leading receivers this year have been Tyler Lockett (33 catches, 483 yards, 7 touchdowns) and Doug Baldwin (23 catches, 275 yards). They have struggled at times to stay healthy at running back, leading a trio of players to have put up over 250 yards thus far this season. Chris Carson (497 yards, 2 touchdowns), Mike Davis (356 yards, 3 touchdowns), and Rashaad Penny (254 yards, 1 touchdown) have all seen their number called at different times.
Defensively, the Seahawks have been led by Bradley McDougald (42 tackles), Frank Clark (8 sacks), and Earl Thomas (3 interceptions).
Seahawks Cover
There is one trend that sticks out to me in this game. The Packers, have yet to lose a game at home, but they also have yet to win a game on the road. While two of those games were against the Rams and Patriots, they have also lost to the Redskins and Lions on the road. For whatever reason, the Packers have looked shaky at best all season, but look especially vulnerable on the road. It won’t help that the Seahawks has notoriously been one of the tougher places to play at over the last several years and the Seahawks are generally tough against the pass, something Aaron Rodgers and coach Mike McCarthy rely on, sometimes to a fault. For this one, I am taking the Seahawks even giving up the 2.5-points.