BFTB Roundtable: Week 7 score predictions vs. the Seahawks

The Chargers are five-point favorites over the Seahawks (per DraftKings Sportsbook) a little over 24 hours until kickoff.

Quarterback Geno Smith has the Seahawks sitting at 3-3 on the season while playing arguably the best football of his entire career (nine touchdowns, two interceptions). Justin Herbert has also been efficient with 10 touchdowns to three picks, two of which came via ricocheted passes off his own receivers’ hands.

The over/under for this game is set at 50.5 and while I would normally bet the under in recent weeks, this Seattle team is ranked 30th in total defense so I fully expect a massive bounce back game for the Chargers offense after Herbert failed to throw a touchdown against the Broncos.

Curious to see what our staff predicted for this game? Let’s go ahead and dive in.

Michael Peterson: Justin Herbert failed to throw a touchdown pass this past Monday for the first time in 30 games. I don’t think that will be the case again this week against the 30th-ranked defense in the NFL. The Seahawks rank 21st against the pass and 31st against the run. This could easily be another big day for both Herbert and Austin Ekeler. My only qualm is J.C. Jackson going up against Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf. After his rough stretch, I don’t see how he doesn’t get exposed for at least one big play while facing either of those to. Like every game, I think this will be close once again but the Chargers will continue to find a way to come out on top.

Final Score: Chargers 27-24

Matthew Stanley: The Chargers are likely going to have Corey Linsley back for this game and that is huge. So far the stats show that with Corey Linsley on the field this season Justin Herbert plays like a top 3 QB. Without him, he plays like the 2nd worst. They’re going to need that kind of offensive production to keep up with a Seahawks team that is scoring more points per game than the Chargers (24 vs 23). Geno Smith is playing at a VERY high level, including leading the league in completion percentage, so the defense is going to need to be playing like they did in the 2nd half vs the Broncos to try and keep things locked down. I think this winds up being a pretty high scoring game that the Chargers are able to win.

Final Score: Chargers 31-27

Garrett Sisti: This game Sunday vs. the Seahawks has some parallels to the Browns gameplan: Like Cleveland going into their matchup in Week 5, the Seahawks leaned a lot on their running game with rookie Kenneth Walker who finished with 21 carries and rushed for 97 yards and a TD. The Chargers again are going to have to slow down the rushing attack. Geno Smith, much like Jacoby Brissett, is a mobile QB who is very careful with the football. Both QBs wont gamble too often which limits the passing game but it will be hard to get them to turn over the football unless you put them in a hole. Geno Smith has been efficient – he’s Top 10 in passing yards, 11th in TDs & has the highest completion percentage of any QB who’s thrown over 150 pass attempts. Even though there are similarities, the one thing that will differ from the Chargers matchup in Week 5 is both team will not score as many points as the Browns and Chargers did in Week 5. This will be another ugly game but I think the Chargers pull it off on the last possession with a turnover.

Final Score: Chargers 24-19