The Arizona Cardinals dropped another brutal loss on the road last week when they fell 26-23 to the Miami Dolphins. They again played a mistake-filled road game on the east coast and couldn’t overcome their miscues. Even with Dolphins’ quarterback Ryan Tannehill getting knocked out of the game, they still couldn’t capitalize. Now the Cardinals will return home for a matchup that will feature two of the most disappointing teams in the NFC this season when they take on the New Orleans Saints. They are now three games out of a playoff spot and face long odds of making it back to the postseason.
Moneyline: Arizona -145
Handicap/Spread Odds: Cardinals -2.5
Total O/U: 50.5
Last 5 Meetings: (Road/Home – Spread/Total)
| 09/13/15 | NO 19 – ARI 31 | ARI -2 | O 48.5 |
| 09/22/13 | ARI 7 – NO 31 | NO -8 | U 48.5 |
| 10/10/10 | NO 20 – ARI 30 | ARI 6.5 | O 45.5 |
| 01/16/10 | ARI 14 – NO 45 | NO -7 | O 57 |
| 12/16/07 | ARI 24 – NO 31 | NO -4 | O 49.5 |
On The Saints Side of the Ball (5-8 Record, 8-5 ATS)
The Saints are also coming of an ugly road loss after falling 16-11 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Drew Brees completed just 25-of-41 attempts for 257 yards and three interceptions and the New Orleans offense was held to under 300 total yards. Nobody is really suggesting that Brees is in the twilight of his career but it was the first time in his career that he’s gone back-to-back games without throwing a touchdown pass. He’s also thrown six interceptions in his last two games.
It won’t get much easier for the Saints on the road for the second week in a row, especially if running backs mark Ingram and Tim Hightower average just 3.2 yards per carry the way they did last week. While the defense has shown some improvement over the past couple of weeks, they are still allowing the second-most passing yards in the NFL this season and any positives taken from that side of the ball have basically been negated by their offensive struggles of late.
Last 5 Results:
| 12/11/16 | @TB | L 11-16 | L 2 | U 52 |
| 12/04/16 | DET | L 13-28 | L -6.5 | U 53 |
| 11/27/16 | LA | W 49-21 | W -8 | O 45 |
| 11/17/16 | @CAR | L 20-23 | W 3.5 | U 52.5 |
| 11/13/16 | DEN | L 23-25 | L -3 | U 50 |
On The Cardinals Side of the Ball (5-7-1 Record, 4-9 ATS)
The Cardinals went from being considered Super Bowl contenders to being outside of the playoff picture looking in with three weeks left to go in the regular season. That is a brutal turn of events for a team with plenty of talent that has not been able to put it all together this season. David Johnson currently leads the NFL in yards from scrimmage with 1,830 but Carson Palmer has struggled with consistency. That’s mostly because the offensive line in front of him has been terrible. That’s meant he hasn’t had much time to make decisions and beyond that, it’s hampered the vertical passing game.
Meanwhile, the defense was burned for three touchdowns by Tannehill last week with Jarvis Landry and Kenny Stills combining for 200 yards on 20 yards per catch. Brees can certainly stretch the field with his weapons at the wide receiver position, so it will be interesting to see how the Cardinals defense holds up this week.
Last 5 Results:
| 12/11/16 | @MIA | L 23-26 | L -2 | O 44 |
| 12/04/16 | WAS | W 31-23 | W -2.5 | O 48.5 |
| 11/27/16 | @ATL | L 19-38 | L 4 | O 49 |
| 11/20/16 | @MIN | L 24-30 | L 2 | O 39.5 |
| 11/13/16 | SF | W 23-20 | L -13.5 | U 46.5 |
Quick Analysis
Arizona is currently 5-7-1 straight up and 4-9 against the spread this season, which is a testament to how disappointing they have been overall. The Cardinals are 4-2-1 at home this season but just 3-4 ATS in those games. Meanwhile, the Saints have been a tough opponent in their road games this season as they are 4-1-1 ATS despite a 2-4 record straight up. New Orleans isn’t getting much help this week ATS though as they are just 2.5-point underdogs.
Prediction
Neither one of these teams has inspired much confidence of late but it’s the Cardinals that will have the home field advantage in what projects to be a close game. On top of that, they look like a former contender that has simply been ravaged by injuries whereas the Saints look like they need some locker room changes. This may be the end of the Sean Payton era in New Orleans.
Arizona has failed to cover in six of their last seven overall, so maybe this is the week they finally bounce back with a win ATS since they are only 2.5-point favorites against the Saints this weekend.
Pick: Cardinals -2.5
Note: Lines subject to change leading up to kick-off, so please be aware of the possibility of line movements.
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