Broncos vs Seahawks Odds & Picks Week 1: Expect points in Seattle

The Broncos enter Seattle’s raucous Lumen Field as +5.5 point underdogs to the Seahawks Week 1 in a rematch of 2022’s season opener. The total in this game is set at 41.5 or 42 depending where you look as oddsmakers are expecting this to be one of the lower scoring games in Week 1.

Both teams have made radical changes in the offseason as Denver brings in rookie QB Bo Nix and Seattle enters the Mike MacDonald era.

Each team has matchups to exploit in this one, especially the Seahawks who can to pick on several Broncos defenders. For instance, LB Cody Barton played 357 run defense snaps last season and notched an awful 43.9 PFF run defense grade. Riley Moss is expected to start at CB for the Broncos, but he’s only played 25 snaps in the NFL. The Broncos are thin at CB and are facing arguably the best WR room in the league.

Below you’ll find two picks for the Broncos vs. Seahawks game.

Broncos Vs Seahawks Odds Week 1

Denver Broncos vs. Seattle Seahawks, Sept. 8, 4:05 pm ET

As of September 2 at FanDuel

Broncos Vs Seahawks Picks Week 1

Broncos-Seahawks Over 41 points (-129)

Seattle’s offense is dangerously underrated and I think bookmakers are assuming the Denver offense will be anemic just because they have rookie QB Bo Nix at the controls. The reality is Nix isn’t your typical rookie QB because he made 61 starts in two different college systems.

Even if Nix can be an average game manager in a hostile environment, Sean Payton should be able lead the Broncos on a couple scoring drives. Yes, Seattle’s defense is scarier with Mike MacDonald calling the shots, but there can be growing pains and missed assignments whenever a new coach is in charge. Don’t be surprised if it takes Seattle a while to gel on defense.

When Seattle has the ball, new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb will be calling the shots and his history suggests we might see a faster tempo than we’ve seen in Seattle recently. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Seattle run no huddle in this one, and if they do, it would lead to extra plays and extra possessions.

Everyone in the offseason has been raving about Seahawks’ 2nd-year WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba and if he can live up to the hype, Seattle may have the best WR trio in all of football. That’s bad news for Denver who only has one good CB (Pat Surtain) and serious liabilities in their secondary. Expect Geno Smith to take some deep shots downfield in this one.

I try not to make a habit of buying points, especially on totals, but 41 is a key number and whacky things can happen in Week 1 so I’ll buy a buffer here.

Broncos Vs Seahawks Prop Pick

Seahawks to score first (-162)

I’ll take the more explosive offense with this prop. It’s easy to imagine Seattle going down the field and scoring on its first drive and I could also see Bo Nix struggling on his first couple drives in a loud environment.

I found this number at FanDuel and it’s a nice price considering several other books listed it at -180 or worse. Geno Smith and company have scored first in both of their Week 1 games the last two seasons, including 2022 against these Denver Broncos.

Broncos Vs Seahawks Betting Trends