Arizona Cardinals vs. Seattle Seahawks Betting Odds, Analysis and NFL Pick

With the NFC West division title already clinched, the Seattle Seahawks (9-4-1) will focus on securing one of the conference's two first-round byes in the playoffs when they host the Arizona Cardinals (5-8-1) on Saturday as solid home favorites.

The last time these two teams met back in Week 7, they tied 6-6 at Arizona with both obviously struggling to score and missing key field goals.

Point spread: The Seahawks opened as 6.5-point favorites; the total was 44 early in the week, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. Line updates and matchup report.

NFL pick, via OddsShark computer: 31.7-15.3 Seahawks (NFL picks on every game)

Why the Cardinals can cover the spread

The Cardinals are the defending NFC West champions and should have a lot of pride despite already knowing that they will not be participating in the postseason for the first time in three years. They will be looking to play spoilers by preventing the Seahawks from putting themselves into position for a bye and have won in two of their last two trips to CenturyLink Field.

In fact, the road team has gone an impressive 5-1 against the spread in the past six meetings, according to the OddsShark NFL Database.

Why the Seahawks can cover the spread

While the road team is 5-1 ATS in the last six games between the teams, Seattle has been the visitor in three of the previous four and owns a 4-1 ATS mark in the past five meetings overall. The Seahawks have also turned their home field into a big-time advantage again, covering the spread in three straight there while outscoring their opponents by an average of more than 21 points.

If they can secure a bye in the first round, this team may only need to play one road game to get back to the Super Bowl.

Smart pick

Last week's 48-41 home loss to the New Orleans Saints was a troubling one for Arizona and a far cry from how the team played in the first meeting with Seattle earlier this season. That was the home finale for the Cardinals and may have signaled the end of their run in the division before the rebuilding process begins as soon as next year.

That said, the Seahawks are in a totally different position and will play like it in an easy win on the NFL point spreads.

Betting trends

The Cardinals are 1-4 ATS in their last five games against the Seahawks.

The total has gone under in 13 of the Seahawks' last 17 games in December.

The Seahawks are 12-5 ATS in their last 17 games in Week 16.

All NFL lines and betting trends courtesy of Bleacher Report’s official odds partner, OddsShark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line-movement updates and the OddsShark YouTube page for picks and analysis, or download the free odds tracker app.