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How Many Games Will the Arizona Cardinals Win this Season?

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The Arizona Cardinals made arguably the biggest splash of the entire NFL offseason when they acquired superstar wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Houston Texans. They also re-signed running back Kenyan Drake and offensive tackle D.J. Humphries while adding dynamic defender Isaiah Simmons with the eighth overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Where does their win total stand after all of those moves? William Hill lists Arizona’s over/under at 6.5 wins with -155 juice on the over.

From William Hill Sportsbook

From William Hill Sportsbook

The Cardinals went 5-10-1 in Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray’s first season in the desert and oddsmakers are expecting some improvement on that record in 2020. Some may consider the posted win total low, but that’s because they play in a tough division with two elite teams (San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks) and a solid No. 3 in the Los Angeles Rams. Arizona is listed as a 12/1 longshot to win the NFC West, with no other team having worse than +325 odds. However, it can be argued that Arizona is actually the third-best team in the NFC West after an offseason that saw a lot of players shipped out of Los Angeles.

Kyler Murray progressed well his rookie season and should take another step forward with plenty of weapons at his disposal (Hopkins, Drake, Larry Fitzgerald, Christian Kirk, etc.). The defense, still a work in progress, will have to heavily rely on their stars to be opportunistic to keep the game within reach for this dynamic offense. 

I expect the Cardinals to flirt with an 8-8 record, so take the OVER 6.5 wins (-155).

Stats to Know

  • The Cardinals ranked 31st in the NFL in TE targets (56), resulting in 40 catches for 545 yards and three TDs. Somehow their TEs did finish second in yards per catch (13.63) at the TE position.
  • Arizona led the NFL in catch splits (67.2 percent of their QBs completions) to the WR position (238/2593/11).
  • Even with great success, the Cardinals’ WRs finished last in the NFL in yards per catch (10.89).
  • Murray tied for NFL lead in quarterback sacks (48).
  • Arizona has the worst TE defense in the NFL (98 catches for 1,173 yards on 130 targets) while allowing a league-high 16 touchdowns to the position.

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