It has been a brutal start to the season for the Seattle Seahawks. Seattle is 2-3 on the year and star quarterback Russell Wilson just had surgery on his middle finger after injuring it in Week 5 and is expected to miss at least four weeks of action.
Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Steelers are also 2-3 on the year and have had to deal with injuries of their own. Popular wide receiver, JuJu Smith-Schuster, will undergo shoulder surgery and miss the remainder of the season.
We’re used to both of these teams being complete powerhouses, but the tables have simply turned. Neither team is looking like a playoff contender at this point, but a win for one of these teams will put them back to .500, giving the winner some hope of turning things around.
Find out which team I think will get back to .500 in our picks and predictions for Sunday Night Football between the Seahawks and Steelers. Please note that all NFL Week 6 SNF odds and lines are current as of 5 PM EST on Friday, October 15.
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Sunday Night Football Prediction Week 6
The Seattle Seahawks will be on the road without Russell Wilson. That’s the bad news. The good news is that Geno Smith is the backup and he has legitimate experience as a starting quarterback in the NFL. Smith is one of the more reliable backups in the league and could likely start for a couple teams this season, at this very moment.
The Seahawks have struggled protecting Wilson and will likely struggle to protect Smith. Not coincidentally, Wilson landed on the sideline for the next month because of the offensive line. Still, for Smith, he’ll have plenty of playmakers around him in an offense that can still come close to producing its average of 351 yards per game.
The offense might struggle to click early on, but eventually Smith will get in a rhythm. He’s got too many playmakers at his disposal, namely Chris Carson, Tyler Lockett, and DK Metcalf, to struggle through these next four weeks.
The defense, on the other hand, has struggled all season with extremely poor coverage in the secondary and a rushing defense that hasn’t been great either. This defense has allowed a league-worst 450.8 yards per game, which is just not going to get the job done.
Meanwhile, the Steelers have had their difficulties on both sides of the ball as well. Pittsburgh is averaging just 18.8 points per game and are allowing 22.4 points per game. The offense has struggled to run the ball well, except for last week, when Najee Harris finally broke out for 122 yards on 23 carries.
Just like the Seahawks, the Steelers haven’t been great in coverage as they’ve allowed 260.6 yards per game through the air. However, the rushing defense ranks in the top 10 league-wide, having held teams to just over 100 yards per game.
With Wilson out for this game, the books have installed the Steelers as pretty large favorites. I disagree with that decision and like Smith to utilize his playmakers as well as Wilson has.
SNF Week 6 Pick: Seahawks 27, Steelers 17
Seahawks backup quarterback Geno Smith showed that he was capable of leading the Seattle offense when he came on in relief of Russell Wilson in Week 5. (Image: USA TODAY Sports)
Sunday Night Football Best Bets Week 6
SNF Best Bet: Seahawks Moneyline (+188) at Unibet
Geno Smith is capable of running an offense, he showed that in relief of Russell Wilson in Week 5. Meanwhile, the Steelers’ pass defense has been dreadful all year. As long as these Seahawks wide receivers get open, which I think they will, Smith will find them and make plays.
On the other hand, Ben Roethlisberger already has thrown four interceptions on the season and the Pittsburgh run game has struggled in part due to a mediocre offensive line that can’t seem to produce consistent performances.
For that reason, I believe Seattle’s pass rush is also capable of getting to Roethlisberger in this game, so I’ll take the underdog here.
SNF Best Bet: Over 43 Points (-107) at Unibet
Neither defense has been all that impressive this season, with both teams allowing over three touchdowns per game on average. If that happens in this game, we’ll be in great shape with the over. The Seahawks have plenty of playmakers, while the Steelers get to face a Seattle defense that ranks dead last in the league in yards allowed per game.
Oddsmakers don’t know what to expect from Smith in this game. He can run a little bit, and again, has the talent to make some plays and look plenty capable in the pocket.
Let’s ride with the over in primetime and make this our NFL bet of the day.
