New Orleans Saints at Arizona Cardinals Betting Preview
Thursday Night Football presents us with the Arizona Cardinals (2-4, 0-3 home) looking to pick up its first home victory of the season against the New Orleans Saints (2-4, 1-1 away) in an NFC battle of teams struggling out of the gate. Both teams failed to pick up victories last week, the Saints falling to Cincinnati, 30-26, and the Cardinals losing 19-9 in Seattle.
The kickoff of Thursday’s showdown is at 8:15 p.m. EST inside State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals are a two-point favorite, and the over/under point total is 44.0.
What to Know – New Orleans Saints
New Orleans is banged up heading into the short week with a handful of starters already ruled out for the contest. The Saints will go to Arizona shorthanded, looking to bounce back after a close loss to the Bengals last week. New Orleans sits in third place in the NFC South division.
Whether it is Andy Dalton or Jameis Winston starting under center for the Saints, the leader will have to overcome injuries to the Saints’ top two wide receivers and an All-Pro guard. Winston has missed the last three games but is back at practice, while Dalton continues to take snaps with the starters.
Alvin Kamara appears to be getting things going after a pair of duds in his first two outings. The all-purpose running back carried the ball 19 times for 99 yards last week and added six receptions for 25 yards. Kamara is still without a touchdown this season.
Rookie wide receiver Chris Olave has stepped up in the absence of the injured Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry to lead the Saints in receiving with 25 receptions for 389 yards and a pair of scores. Tre’Quan Smith has seen his playing increase as well, adding nine receptions for 176 yards and a T.D.
What to Know – Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals have dropped two in a row, and the offense hasn’t been able to get things going this year. Arizona is at the bottom of the NFC West but just one-game back of three teams, all at .500.
Kyler Murray engineers the Arizona offense leading the team with both passing and rushing yards. Murray has thrown six touchdowns and rushed for two, accounting for 1,696 total yards of offense. The dual-threat quarterback is coming off a game where he threw for 222 yards and rushed for another 100.
With Murray handling the majority of the rushing, it has been a quiet year so far starting running back James Conner. The former Pitt Panther boosted the Cardinals down the stretch last season but has only accounted for 200 yards and one touchdown on the ground through five contests.
Marquis Brown and Zach Ertz have been Murray’s main targets while DeAndre Hopkins served his suspension. Brown is now out for an extended period of time, just as Hopkins is set to make his season debut.
The Pick is In
Arizona has lost eight home games in a row and have only covered the spread four times in their last 12 games. However, Murray and company are too good, and the offense finds its rhythm Thursday night.
The Pick: Arizona Cardinals -2
