The Arizona Cardinals (+9) are flying east to visit the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. This early afternoon game will get underway at 1:00 p.m. ET and you can watch the action live on FOX.
Betting Preview: Atlanta Falcons vs. Arizona Cardinals
In this Sunday NFC game, Atlanta has been projected as the big favorite and is currently giving up 9 points. If they want to play the moneyline, gamblers would currently have to put down $400 in order to win $100 back on the Falcons (-400). The Cardinals are getting +300 moneyline odds. If one side catches a lucky break early on it will generate a worthy betting opportunity in-game. Vegas has determined the over/under (O/U) to be 44 points.
The Cardinals are 6-7 against the spread (ATS) and are down 2.3 units so far. They’ve been a good under bet and have posted an O/U record of 5-8.
The underwhelming Falcons have lost 8.2 units this season. The team is 3-10 ATS and has an O/U record of 7-6.
The Cardinals are 3-10 straight up (SU) in 2018 while the Falcons are 4-9 SU.
The Cards will try to get back on track after a 17-3 loss to Detroit in Week 14Their defense allowed the Lions to eat up the clock by running for 122 yards on 31 rush attempts, along with one rushing TD. Theo Riddick logged a productive day for the Lions in that one with 30 yards on four catches. On the offense, Josh Rosen completed 26-of-41 passes for 240 yards and one interception. David Johnson (only 49 rushing yards on 15 attempts) mounted the running attack while Johnson (eight receptions, 12 yards) and Trent Sherfield (five catches, 77 yards) handled the receiving duties in the defeat.
Back in Week 14, Green Bay got the win against this Atlanta team by a score of 34-20. The Falcons defensive unit allowed the Packers to rush for 138 yards on 25 attempts, along with one rushing TD. Aaron Jones had a productive showing for Green Bay, posting 78 rushing yards and a score on 17 attempts. For Atlanta, Matt Ryan completed 28-of-42 passes for 262 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Ito Smith (60 yards on 11 rush attempts) and Tevin Coleman (45 yards on 10 carries) spearheaded the running game while Julio Jones (eight receptions, 106 yards, two TDs) and Mohamed Sanu (six catches, 54 yards) led the receiving attack in the loss.
Arizona has run the ball on 42.5 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Atlanta has a rush percentage of 34.9 percent. The Cardinals have produced 84.1 rush yards/game and have eight touchdowns on the ground this year. The Falcons are totaling 81.2 rushing yards per game and have eight total rush TDs.
It seems like the Cardinals might be the more disruptive team in the trenches. Their offensive line has given up only 52 sacks while the D-line logged 37 sacks. The Falcons offensive line has given up 24 sacks and their defense has sacked opposing QBs just 39 times.
The Cards offense has averaged 177.7 yards in the air overall and has 12 passing scores so far. The Falcons have recorded 315.1 pass yards per outing and have 28 total pass TDs.
Arizona appears to have an edge when it comes to limiting the pass. The team’s let opponents run for an average of 139.5 yards and pass for 230.5 yards per game. The Atlanta D has allowed 269.8 yards per game to opposing passers and 131.2 yards per game to opposing runners. The Cards are giving up an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of only 6.06 to opposing QBs, while the Falcons have allowed a 7.15 ANY/A.
Ryan has been more productive than Rosen recently. His adjusted net yards per pass attempt stands at 7.77 for the season and 5.05 over his last two outings while Rosen’s ANY/A is 3.87 (and 4.25 over the past two outings).
Arizona Cardinals at Atlanta Falcons NFL Prediction
SU Winner: Falcons, ATS Winner: Cardinals, O/U: Over
Betting Trends
- The Arizona defensive unit has sacked opposing quarterbacks 39 times this year. Atlanta has recorded just 27 sacks.
- Atlanta has lost nine fumbles this season while Arizona has let seven get away.
- The Cardinals offense has registered three pass plays of 40 yards or more, while the Falcons have accounted for seven such plays.
- The Arizona defense has allowed four pass plays of 40 or more yards, while Atlanta has given up six such plays.
- Both defenses have produced four rushing plays of 20 or more yards. The Arizona offense has recorded 21 running plays of 10+ yards while Atlanta has accounted for 30 such plays.
- The Cardinals defense has allowed 15 rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Falcons have given up 12 such runs.
- The O/U for Atlanta’s last match was set at 50.5. The over cashed in the 34-20 defeat to Green Bay.
- Over its last three contests, Atlanta is 0-3 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
- Over its last three matchups, Arizona is 1-2 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
- The O/U for Arizona’s last game was 40.5. The under cashed in the team’s 17-3 loss to Detroit.
- Arizona, as a team, has produced 4.1 yards per carry over its last three games and 4.9 over its last two.
- Atlanta has averaged 3.0 yards per carry over its last three contests and 3.6 over its past two.
