12th Man Rising
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Seahawks only favored in three games. Does it really matter?

By Todd Vandenberg

SEATTLE, WA - DECEMBER 31: Quarterback Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks walks off the field during the first half of the game against the Arizona Cardinals at CenturyLink Field on December 31, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr /Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA - DECEMBER 31: Quarterback Russell Wilson #3 of the Seattle Seahawks walks off the field during the first half of the game against the Arizona Cardinals at CenturyLink Field on December 31, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr /Getty Images) /
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The Seahawks are only favored in three games this season by one oddsmaker. This is new territory for Seattle, but is it something to worry about?

Since Russell Wilson arrived in Seattle, the Seahawks have been the early favorites in at least nine games every season. For at least one betting establishment, that changed drastically. They see the Seahawks as the favorite in just three contests.

Before you get all hot and bothered, that’s just one site. Okay, now you can get bothered. Another betting site lists the Seahawks as the favorites in three games as well. Seattle is favored in their home game versus the Dallas Cowboys by just one and a half points in week three.

Wait, it gets better. They aren’t on the right side of the odds again until week 13, when the San Francisco 49ers come to town. Seattle is a massive one point favorite in that contest. Finally, the Seahawks are favored by three in the season finale at home against the Kansas City Chiefs.

For those of you not completely familiar with odds and betting lines, these aren’t actually predictions of who will win or lose the games. Odds are set according to how the people setting the lines think people will bet.

Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks /

Seattle Seahawks

Do the odds really matter?

Now, those assumptions are based on the perception of how good or bad a team will be. So indirectly, the betting odds do reflect the expectations of the Seahawks performance in 2018. Those expectations are not very high.

If you must check the odds, we recommend this site, Sports Book Review. You’ll find tons of information and links to a gaggle of sites, so you can get a consensus of the opinions out there.

One more thing I should mention about those odds. The rule of thumb is that home field is worth three points. CenturyLink is probably worth five, but that’s another discussion.

The point here is the Seahawks are only favored in home games, and only one of those is by as much as three points. So if every game was played at a neutral site, Seattle wouldn’t be favored in a single game.

Finally, is this something to worry about? I imagine the Seahawks would emulate the Rock and say to the books, “It doesn’t matter what you think!”

Seattle always seemed to thrive in the underdog role in the past. I look at this as just a little added incentive for the Seahawks in 2018.

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