Saints vs. Cardinals Week 7 matchup preview and current betting lines
Week 7 in the NFL begins with a must-win battle between NFC teams with 2-4 records with the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals. On Sunday, the Saints lost 30-26 to the Bengals despite missing several of their best players while the Cardinals laid a 19-9 egg in Seattle.
There will be a lot of attention on the wide receiver position for both teams. The Cardinals are activating DeAndre Hopkins, their top receiver, after he served his six-game suspension. Unfortunately, he will not be joined with new target Marquise Brown, who fractured his foot late in Sunday’s loss. Brown was holding the fort well with Hopkins suspended, but he could be out for six weeks. Still, Kyler Murray gets his top weapon back.
The Saints just played a game without their starting quarterback (Jameis Winston) and top three wide receivers (Michael Thomas, Jarvis Landry, and Chris Olave). They also did not have top corner Marshon Lattimore. Given the short week, it is possible all those players are out again, though Olave was close to playing Sunday, so he is the best bet to return.
Despite these accumulated injuries, the Saints have been very competitive the last three games with Dalton starting, and he has better numbers than Winston this season. The Saints could very well win this game with how bad the Cardinals have been playing.
The NFL Week 7 odds have the Saints as a 1.5-point road underdog with a total of 45 points in this matchup. Which team falls to 2-5?
Players to watch in the Saints vs. Cardinals game
New Orleans Saints
Taysom Hill: If there is a defense silly enough to not account for Hill, it might be Arizona. Hill has played some snaps in recent weeks with all the injuries to skill players for the Saints. He had 112 yards rushing and three touchdowns against the Seahawks, a defense the Cardinals managed one field goal against. The Saints should use Hill any which way they can on a short week.
Arizona Cardinals
DeAndre Hopkins: We have not seen Hopkins since Week 14 last year due to injury and a six-game PED suspension. He is back and should fill in nicely with Hollywood Brown injured. Hopkins had his weakest receiving season of his career in 2021, but he did catch eight touchdowns in 10 games last year and can make contested catches with the best of them.
Our Best NFL Bets for the Saints vs. Cardinals game
We have two NFL Week 7 predictions for this Thursday night matchup of two teams heading in the wrong direction.
Saints vs. Cardinals Point Spread Pick: Saints +1.5 (-110)
The Saints vs. Cardinals spread opened with the Cardinals as a 3-point home favorite, but things are already moving towards the Saints.
It’s too bad the transitive property does not work in the NFL, because the Saints scored 39 points on Seattle two weeks ago in a win. This was after the Seahawks allowed 45 points to the Lions. But the Cardinals only scored nine points on Seattle, and six of those came on a blocked punt return. The offense contributed just a field goal despite Kyler Murray rushing for 100 yards.
This Arizona offense is broken and is one of the worst in situational football (28th on third down, 21st in the red zone). The Saints have their problems of course with turnovers, but Dalton has not been a turnover machine at quarterback for them. He has done an admirable job of guiding this team with the injuries at the skill players.
This is a gut pick where one team has done a great job of battling through injury and still giving teams competitive games. The Cardinals just laid an egg against the Seahawks. You might expect things to turn around for Arizona at home, but this is one of the worst home teams in football. Even in last year’s playoff season, the Cardinals were 3-5 at home. Take the Saints in this one.
Be sure to read our NFL picks page for more betting tips.
bet on NFL with betmgmTotal Points: Under 45 (-110)
Ah, back to the Thursday night grind where touchdowns are almost impossible this season. The Colts vs. Broncos game did not have a touchdown, and the Washington-Chicago game last week ended 12-7.
This one should be a bit higher scoring than that, but it’s still likely going to be a grind with injuries and a short week. Not to mention neither quarterback comes in hot.
Since 2020, the over is just 3-11-2 in Arizona games following a loss. Once this team gets in a funk, it struggles to get out of it. Arizona’s last four games have ended under 43 points, and the Arizona offense has scored no more than 17 points in three of the last four games.
The only game this season where Arizona scored more than 23 in regulation was in Carolina, and even that 26-point outburst was helped by turnovers and short fields as the Cardinals moved 36 yards (combined) on their last two touchdown drives.
Meanwhile, the Saints have been playing some real shootouts under Dalton with the last three games all going to 53 points or more. But all of those games were played in London or the Superdome where the Saints usually light it up better.
You should feel comfortable in continuing to see low scoring on Thursday night games. Go with the under to hit for an NFL bet of the week from this one.
Bet on NFL with caesars >Frequently asked questions about the Saints vs. Cardinals game in week 7
The game is being played at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Since 2019, Arizona coach Kliff Kingsbury is 4-11 ATS (26.7%) as a home favorite, the worst record for any team with at least 15 such games. Kingsbury is 10-17 ATS (37.0%) in all home games, the fourth-worst record since 2019.
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