NFL Thursday Night Football: New Orleans Saints at Arizona Cardinals Betting Preview

State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ – 1:15 AM – Friday 21st October

Honestly, given the last two Thursday Night Football games this one feels like a breath of fresh air, which is telling given both teams are 2-4. Both of these teams had playoff aspirations before the season began, and now find themselves battling to keep their seasons alive, so much so that his game could be the difference between either of these franchises being buyers or sellers at the upcoming trade deadline. Last week, the Cardinals had a chastening loss to division rivals Seattle, in which they looked completely anaemic on offence. The Saints on the other hand managed to lose against the Bengals despite rushing for 228 yards, but their defence failed to maintain Joe Burrow and his receivers. This promises to be an interesting matchup between two teams that have the potential to be good, but have failed to impress for much of the season.

Saints at Cardinals Picks

Moneyline: Cardinals – 5/7 with 10Bet
Spread: Cardinals +2.5 – 17/20 with BoyleSports
Over/Under: Under 44.5 Points – 17/20 with PariMatch

(Odds correct as of 3pm 20/10)

I like the Cardinals here. Both teams are battling injuries, but the list of names that the Saints are missing is damning. Marshon Lattimore, Jarvis Landry and Michael Thomas are out, while both Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston have injury designations. Meanwhile, DeAndre Hopkins makes his return after serving a six-game suspension, which is huge for Arizona.

Staggering splits for the Cardinals since the start of 2021.

With D-Hop: 8-2, 30.2 PPG
Without D-Hop: 5-9, 19.4 PPG

— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) October 18, 2022

Hopkins’ return comes at the perfect time, as Hollywood Brown has just been placed on IR and Kyler Murray and this Cardinals offence is in desperate need of some spark. There’s no debating that Hopkins makes Arizona a better team, and he will need to be on it from the off if they are to win.

As for New Orleans, things aren’t looking good. The Saints have lost four of their last five games, are beaten up and don’t even know who their quarterback is going to be for this game. Head Coach Dennis Allen has called it a ‘game time decision’, but signs are pointing towards Andy Dalton starting again. Dalton has been steady at best in his three games, and with Landry and Thomas still out, it’s tough to see who is going to be able to make plays for him at receiver. Expect the Saints to lean heavily on the run game, and for Alvin Kamara to be key if they are to have any success.

As for the points spread, hammer the under. Unders on Thursday nights are 5-1 this season, and it figures that this game will continue in that vein. Both offences have struggled to get going all season, and are both missing valuable players. 

Saints at Cardinals Player Prop Bets

DeAndre Hopkins Over 62.5 Receiving Yards – 5/6 with Betfair

Hopkins will be on the warpath after six games watching from the sidelines, and his importance to Murray is even higher now Marquise Brown is out injured.

Taysom Hill Anytime Touchdown – 9/5 with Betfair

With both of the Saints QBs carrying injuries, expect Hill to get some action out of the wildcat, and he’s been electric this season with the ball in his hands. I can see him getting quite a lot of work in this game.

Alvin Kamara Over 62.5 Rushing Yards – 9/10 with Unibet 

Same reasoning as the above prop bet. Kamara is the most important player on this offence and will be fed the ball early and often. The Cardinals have been decent against the run this year, but i think Kamara matches up well against them, and he’s coming off a big week. 

Zach Ertz Under 45.5 Receiving Yards – 9/10 with Coral

The Saints have been very good at defending tight ends all year, and Hopkins’ return will mean that Murray will look to him more than Ertz. I think this line is too high considering quite how much Kyler loves Hopkins as a target. 

Kyler Murray to Score a Rushing Touchdown – 23/10 with 888Sport

For the Cardinals to win this game, Kyler Murray will have to produce some magic with his legs. The odds are quite favourable considering how good of a rusher he is, even if he hasn’t showed it all that much this season. That could change here. 

Andy Dalton over 0.5 Interceptions – 17/20 with 888Sport

Byron Murphy and Budda Baker have played well this season despite the Cardinal’s tricky start. Andy Dalton is not the QB he once was and always has a pick in him these days.