Cardinals-Eagles: Against The Spread Predictions
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It's nearly time for Arizona Cardinals football, and betting/football experts from across the web have made their picks for Week 5 when they host the Philadelphia Eagles:
Cardinals-Eagles: Against The Spread Picks
"People are starting to talk about the Eagles like they did about the Bills two weeks ago. (And Philadelphia will be favored in every game the rest of the season.) But it’s deserved. The Eagles rank third in explosive play rate (14.4 percent). The Cardinals’ defense, meanwhile, has allowed explosive plays at the league’s highest rate (15.6 percent).
"I am not sure how the Cardinals keep up with the Eagles, given that Arizona ranks last in explosive play rate (7.2 percent). But Kyler Murray should be motivated in a matchup against a dangerous, young quarterback in Jalen Hurts that is the new guy and has seemingly passed Murray by. When Murray is aggressively looking to run, he can put up points against anybody, plus tight end Zach Ertz has a favorable matchup against his old teammates.
"The Eagles are coming off an emotional comeback win over the Jaguars and former coach Doug Pederson, are flying across the country and have a big game against the Cowboys coming up. We don’t think they will lose, but they will leave the back door wide open if need be.
The pick: Cardinals (+5.5)
Erin Dolan and Aaron Schatz, ESPN
Dolan: "Eagles first half -3. The Birds are 4-0 straight up but haven't covered every game. The one area they excel at is the first half. Philadelphia leads the league with an average of 23 points scored in the first half. Oh, and get this ... Arizona is dead last in points scored in the first half with an average of four points. Eagles cover the first half."
Schatz: "Eagles -3 in the first half. I was going to write here about how I've been driving the Eagles' bandwagon since the preseason and everybody else is finally climbing aboard. The Eagles are second in DVOA so far this season, while Arizona is 29th. That's not a surprise, as we had the Eagles far ahead of the Cardinals in our preseason projections, namely because we expected a decline for the Arizona defense -- which has happened. I was going to recommend Eagles -5 for the full game here. But Erin is right, the Cardinals are particularly weak when it comes to early scripted plays. So why worry about a backdoor cover in the fourth quarter?"
"The Eagles are riding high as the last undefeated team, but this won't be an easy trip. The Cardinals seemed to right things last week in the second half against the Panthers. But this is a big step up in competition. Look for the Eagles to keep it rolling -- even with the Cowboys on tap next week."
Pick: Eagles 30, Cardinals 23
"The Philadelphia Eagles look like the most complete team right now. They've held two of their opponents to eight points or fewer, outpaced the Detroit Lions, who have the league's highest-scoring offense, and beat an upstart Jacksonville Jaguars squad that features a top-six scoring offense and defense.
"The Arizona Cardinals haven't won a home game since Week 7 of the 2021 season, and they're the only team in the NFL that's yet to score in the first quarter. Bettors should expect the Eagles to jump out to a lead, and they have the defense to maintain it.
"With that said, Davenport banked on the Cardinals, who gained some offensive momentum in the second half of last week's contest, scoring 23 points on the Carolina Panthers defense.
"'Given the issues that the Cardinals have had scoring points in the first half this year, Arizona's odds of winning this game against the NFL's last remaining undefeated team aren't good. But the Redbirds finally started to hit an offensive groove in the second half last week against the Panthers, so while Arizona might not be able to win this one outright, they should at least be able to keep it close.
"'Philly could also get caught looking ahead to next week's prime-time matchup with the Cowboys. Given the size of the spread here, the home 'dog is the play.'"
Consensus: Cardinals +5.5
Brandon Anderson, Action Network
"This line tells me books don’t really know what to do with this game, and I don’t either.
"I’ve been on the odds/philadelphia-eagles”>Eagles all year, and they continue to look like one of the best teams in the NFL. Jalen Hurts is a legit MVP candidate, and the defense might be even better than the offense. Meanwhile, the 2-2 Cards looked like they were quitting on the coaching staff mid-win.
"This line has moved 7.5 points from the preseason lookahead, Arizona is unpredictable, and the Eagles are on the road in the desert heat in a letdown spot between big Jaguars and Cowboys games. Kliff Kingsbury is now 12-0-1 ATS as an underdog against coaches who haven’t won a Super Bowl, including 10-2-1 SU (106% ROI). Love Nick Sirianni, but he ain’t won a ring yet.
THE PICK: Cardinals +5.5 (Pass)
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