Carolina Panthers vs. Arizona Cardinals NFL Sports Betting Guide
It took Kyler Murray only two NFL starts to mark his place in the record books. With 349 passing yards in a Week 2 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Murray joined Cam Newton as the only quarterbacks in NFL history with at least 300 passing yards in each of his first two career games. Ironically, Murray and Newton will meet this week when the Cardinals host the Carolina Panthers on Sunday afternoon…although Newton won’t be playing. From the looks of it, his foot injury will keep him out at least a week or two – if not longer.
The Panthers are 0-2 and desperate for a win. Can Christian McCaffrey and Kyle Allen guide them to a win, or will Arizona win for the first time this season?
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Details
- Opening Line: Carolina -3
- Current Line: Arizona -2.5
- Over/Under: 46.5
- Location: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
- Start Time: 4:05 PM ET
- Last Meeting: Cardinals 22, Panthers 6
View consensus picks from 100+ experts for the Panthers at Cardinals >>
Overview
The rookie first-overall pick has lived up to the hype for the Cardinals in his first two starts. While he and first-year head coach Kliff Kingsbury are still working out the kinks of their Air Raid offense, there have been some major bright spots already that jump off the tape. Murray, in particular, is capable of making big plays with both his arm and his legs. He’s been stellar in second halves, posting a 103.3 quarterback rating with two touchdowns and no picks. Now he gets the opportunity to do exactly that against a Panthers’ defense that has allowed 50 points in back-to-back losses to open the season. Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald needs 10 catches to pass Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez for the second-most in NFL history. It will be very interesting to see if he can make it happen against Carolina.
Meanwhile, the Panthers don’t have much to rally around following a home loss to the Buccaneers. They’ve had 10 days to prepare, but it hasn’t been enough for Newton, who is nursing a foot injury. In steps Kyle Allen, who will be making his second NFL start. The undrafted free agent started against the New Orleans Saints backups in Week 17 last season.
It’s pretty clear that the Panthers gameplan here is to rely on McCaffrey, D.J. Moore, and Curtis Samuel, while hoping the defense can come up with a good effort. Will that be enough, though?
Trends
- Home team is 6-0 in last 6 meetings between these teams
- Carolina is 2-8 SU & ATS in last 10 road games
- Panthers are 1-7 ATS in Newton’s last 8 starts
- Arizona is 2-8 ATS in its last 10 games overall
- Under is 5-0 in Cardinals last 5 games against team’s with losing records
Bottom Line
We’ve seen the Panthers go from a field goal favorite to a field goal underdog with Newton sidelined. The Cardinals have been game early on as they don’t have a win but they did come back from down 18 points against the Detroit Lions in Week 1 to tie and then kept it close on the road with a talented Baltimore Ravens’ team in a one-score loss.
It’ll be different for the Cardinals in this spot as now they’re favored to win. Allen will be serviceable, the Panthers defense will play well, and they’ll cover in what should be a very tight game.
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Dave Golokhov is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Dave, check out his archive and follow him @davegolokhov.