After a snoozer of an opening game between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears, there\u2019s nowhere to go but up as the NFL embarks on its Centennial Season. If the Packers and Bears were a rivalry worthy of the 100th NFL campaign, the Cincinnati Bengals at Seattle Seahawks might be just the opposite. The Seahawks and Bengals have met just 20 times total since 1977, with Cincy holding an 11-9 advantage in the all-time series. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But these are two teams at very different points in their current regimes. Seattle\u2019s Pete Carroll is one of the more entrenched head coaches in the NFL and Zac Taylor is just now beginning his first season at the helm in Cincinnati. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carroll has two Super Bowl appearances and a Super Bowl Championship. Taylor was friends with Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Seahawks have an undisputed franchise quarterback in Russell Wilson. Cincinnati has a quarterback they refuse to upgrade in Andy Dalton. It\u2019s an odd match up, but here are your details. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seattle has done nothing this offseason but get better than last year\u2019s NFC Wild Card squad. They\u2019ve added superstar pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney in a trade with the Houston Texans, drafted defensive end L.J. Collier out of TCU and brought in free agent Ezekiel Ansah to play the other defensive end slot. Their pass rush should one of the more formidable in the league. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where they\u2019re noticeably weaker is in the secondary. Where once the Legion of Boom prowled the defensive backfield in CenturyLink Field, they now field mid-round draft picks. They make up for it with the best middle linebacker in the league in Bobby Wagner, but he\u2019s the lone super star after the defensive line. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On offense, Wilson is a winner and dragged this team to the playoffs on his back last season. He doesn\u2019t have a lot of firepower to work with as his best wide receiver is Tyler Lockett, primarily a speed guy. The Sseahawks invested a lot of draft capital at running back over the last few seasons and none of it\u2019s really paid off. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cincinnati\u2019s problem is the two guys they most need on the field Sunday are banged up. Left tackle Cordy Glenn is still in the concussion protocol, and that means his back up, Andre Smith, will face off against Clowney all day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wide receiver A.J. Green would have little trouble getting open against Seattle\u2019s defensive backs, but he\u2019ll be watching the game in street clothes, still recovering from ankle surgery. Tyler Boyd and John Ross will have to carry the load for the Bengals and if there was ever a time for Ross to show he\u2019s not a first round bust, this is it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joe Mixon is a potential all-purpose star at running back and Taylor, coming over from the Rams, should have a blueprint on how to use him. Andy Dalton, at this point, is just Andy Dalton and you know what you\u2019re going to get. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Large spreads are scary early on and underdogs outperform the trend in the first weeks of the season every year. For that reason alone, I\u2019m picking Cincinnati at +9.5. They\u2019re not great, but they\u2019ll be better than people think. Seahawks 24, Bengals 17<\/p>\n\n\n\n