The Seahawks are back at home for their season opener this year, hosting the Cincinnati Bengals at 1:05 p.m. Sunday. Below, we begin this season’s game predictions. Bob Condotta, Adam Jude, Larry Stone and Matt Calkins will make their picks each Friday, and we’ll keep a running tally of their records.
Feel free to leave your predictions in the comments, or play our Seahawks Pick ‘Em game.
Bob Condotta
Seahawks 27, Bengals 10. The Seahawks have never lost a home opener in the Pete Carroll era — and actually haven’t since 2008 — and it’s hard to imagine happening now against a rebuilding Cincy team in its first game for new coach Zac Taylor. But, Andy Dalton could present some challenges for Seattle’s secondary, especially if the new pass rush additions are still a little rusty.
Adam Jude
Seahawks 27, Bengals 16. Cincinnati was 29th against the run in 2018, and the combination of Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny should set the stage for a big opener for Seattle’s run game.
Larry Stone
Seahawks 24, Bengals 10. The Bengals have a new coach (former Rams assistant Zac Taylor) after last year’s last-place finish, but many of the same issues that finally sunk Marvin Lewis. Meanwhile, the Seahawks are buoyed by the addition of Jadeveon Clowney and should roll at home in their 2019 opener.
Matt Calkins
Seahawks 21, Bengals 14. The Seahawks will control the ball and clock with their ground game, as Chris Carson racks up more than 100 rushing yards in the season-opener. The game will end in Seattle taking at knee at Cincinnati’s 30, thus infuriating bettors who took the Seahawks at plus 9.5.
The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times.