Are you ready for Kyler Murray’s debut? The Arizona Cardinals (+3000 to win the NFC West) will deploy their shiny new quarterback this coming Sunday, as they open the 2019 NFL season at home against the visiting Detroit Lions squad. Will the Cardinals get to 1-0 real quick? Or will the Lions (+1500 to win NFC North) spoil Murray’s first taste of the NFL regular season?
The Lions are the forgotten NFC North team, but in Week 1, they should be able to make some noise against a still rebuilding Cardinals squad, which is led by a rookie quarterback. Conversely, the Lions have an 11-year pro under center in the form of Matthew Stafford. The former first-overall pick out of Georgia passed for 3,771 yards and 21 touchdowns with 11 interceptions in 2018, but this year, he could be on a rebound. Stafford will have the likes of Marvin Jones, Kenny Golladay, and Danny Amendola to target downfield, while the running game could also be on the upswing, as the Lions give the keys to the backfield to Kerryon Johnson, who will no longer be sharing snaps with LeGarrette Blount. Johnson averaged an efficient 5.4 yards per carry in 2018. The run-game should prosper more for Detroit after drafting a promising run-blocker in tight end T.J. Hockenson. Johnson should be busy puncturing the Cardinals run defense that ranked last in the league a season ago.
Last season, the Lions went 9-7 against the spread (ATS) covering 56.2% of the time.
Betting on the Arizona Cardinals (0-0)
New quarterback: check. New head coach: check. Will there be an improvement? Who knows? One thing more certain about the Cardinals this season is that they are going to be intriguing to watch. With Kyler Murray now running the quarterback position and Kliff Kingsbury out to prove that he can carry over his offensive brilliance from college to the pros. Kingsbury’s Air Raid offense worked wonders in Lubbock for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, and if that’s going to be the case for the Cardinals, the matchup with Detroit is a good place to start examining its viability in the NFL. As for the proven factors, the Cardinals will be banking on running back David Johnson and veteran wide receiver and future Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald. With more stability in Arizona, Johnson should be closer to his top form in 2016, when he rushed for 1,239 yards and eight touchdowns. There will be a gaping hole in the Cardinals’ defense over the first six weeks of the season with safety Patrick Peterson suspended for that long due to a violation of the league’s policy on substance abuse.
The under is 3-1 in the Cardinals’ last four home games.
