Seahawks versus Broncos early odds and prediction for Week 1

A new era of Seattle Seahawks football is almost among us. After an offseason of turnover, new head coach Mike Macdonald will finally get to coach his first game with his new team. The expectations are high that the defense will be better, though many times first-time head coaches struggle overall.

Still, Seattle has a lot of talent on its roster. The receiving corps is one of the best in the NFL. Geno Smith is a veteran and quality quarterback. The running backs should get a better chance to show what they are capable of under new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb.

Seattle has two winnable games - at least, on the proverbial paper - to begin the season. Macdonald needs to prove he is ready to be a head coach and not stumble against the Denver Broncos or New England Patriots. Here is how the oddsmakers are seeing the Week matchup break down.

Seahawks versus Broncos early odds for Week 1

According to the latest odds from FanDuel Sportsbook, the Seahawks are 5.5-point favorites against the Broncos in Week 1.

• Seattle -5.5 points: -115 (bet $115 to win $100)
• Denver +5.5 points: -105 (bet $105 to win $100)

If you want to place a wager on the Seahawks' moneyline can currently get odds of -270 (if you bet $270 you would win $100). The Broncos have a better moneyline at +220 (if you place a $100 bet you could win $220).

As far as the over/under, FanDuel sees the game being fairly low-scoring. The over/under is set at 41.5 currently.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Seahawks versus Broncos early prediction for Week 1

There are a lot of unknowns about this game beginning with Seattle having a new head coach in Mike Macdonald. He has never been a head coach at any level so there are things that even he doesn't know what he doesn't know. The best that can be hoped for is that his team, especially the defense, is extremely well-prepared for a Sean Payton-coached offense.

The other key unknown is how well rookie quarterback Bo Nix will do for Denver. He had a ton of high-end college experience, but that doesn't always translate to immediate success in the NFL. Denver's offensive line is solid but not spectacular so Seattle should be able to get some pressure on Nix.

One underrated key element is that Seattle's new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb would have faced Nix when Grubb was at the University of Washington and Nix was at Oregon. Grubb likely knows some of Nix's strengths and weaknesses. Still, Payton is going to have an efficient offense and not ask Nix to do too much other than try to sustain drives.

Offensively, Geno Smith might try to stay away from cornerback Patrick Surtain but the rest of the Broncos defense is suspect. Denver struggled to get much pressure on opposing quarterbacks last year and shouldn't be much better in 2024. That should help a Seahawks offensive line that is still finding its way.

Prediction: Seahawks win

Ultimately, this needs to be a game the Seahawks win. Seattle should start 2-0 with victories against the Broncos and the New England Patriots. A loss could spell trouble for the season.

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