The Arizona Cardinals had themselves a season in 2015. There weren’t many teams in the NFL, let alone the NFC, who could keep pace with the Carolina Panthers, and yet they did. They collected 13 victories and ended the year as one of the league’s foremost balanced teams. That’s important. Above average production on both sides of the ball is the mark of an everything contender—a sportsbettor’s bread and butter, so to speak. The Cardinals were exactly that in 2015. And that shouldn’t change as we look ahead to 2016.
This doesn’t mean the Cardinals will be able to match or exceed the 13 win plateau again. That’ll be awfully tough. To be honest, they may not even be the favorites in the AFC division this year.
The Seattle Seahawks, who won 10 games in 2015, should be better. They started off uncharacteristically slow before getting hot at the end of the season. They will be nipping at the Cardinals’ heels, if not outright surpassing them.
Seattle, after all, is younger. And if there is anything to concern yourself with in regards to Arizona, it’s the age of some key players. Top receiver Larry Fitzgerald, quarterback Carson Palmer and running back Chris Johnson are all on the wrong side of 30. Any one of them could see their production regress in 2016. Age in the NFL is an ever present danger.
Still, Arizona is a division play, in addition to everything else. The advanced age of its core should only factor into your betting if it becomes an apparent issue during the middle of the season. In the meantime, treat the Cardinals as high end everything wagers over the offseason, when the odds on division, NFC and Super Bowl futures will be at their highest.
Best Arizona Cardinals Betting Lines
See the Cardinals’ latest betting lines right here. Our tool singles out the best odds on moneylines, spreads, overs and unders, so that you can spend less time researching sportsbooks.
Just be sure to review this page as many times as necessary until you actually submit your wagers. Game lines in the NFL are notorious for changing throughout the week. That’s what happens when you have days in between the release of odds and the actual kickoff time.
Checking out this page ensures you’ll always have the most accurate information, regardless of how many, if any, changes are made to the best available lines.
Arizona Cardinals Regular Season Schedule
View the Arizona Cardinals’ entire schedule here. This is a great resource for anyone who likes to plan wagers well in advance of actual games.
By reviewing the scores of past games, you can spot betting trends that will be useful every week. Keep track of how the Cardinals perform against certain spreads. Are they covering them at home consistently? How about on the road? See if they are better over or under plays. Find out if they’re struggling against any one type of team, offensive or defensive specialists.
Scroll ahead to forthcoming tilts so that you can get your pre-kickoff legwork done. You won’t have the luxury of premature lines unfortunately, but breaking down the matchup with team play styles, records, injury reports, etc. is more than enough to give you an efficient betting inkling prior to the release of any odds.
Believe it or not, you’ll see and feel the difference in the ease of your wagers by researching matchups two or more weeks before they actually take place.
What Are The Arizona Cardinals Standings
Spend some time going over the Arizona Cardinals’ current place in the standings. Memorizing their place in the NFL’s pecking order goes a long way to fortifying your midseason futures.
If you’re looking for confirmation that the Cardinals are, indeed, conference and Super Bowl contenders, their record will confirm or invalidate their candidacy. Just compare their wins and losses to the records of teams dominating the division (Seattle Seahawks), conference (Green Bay Packers) and Super Bowl (New England Patriots) discussions. You’ll have your answer immediately.
How To Win Arizona Cardinals Bets
Arizona ranked second in points scored per game last season and seventh in points allowed per week. That's absurdly difficult, and it perfectly explains why they amassed 13 victories.
Better still, the Cardinals, barring injury or age related issues, aren't readying themselves for a substantial dip on either offense or defense. Though they didn't add any key free agents, aside from offensive guard Evan Mathis, they didn't lose any pivotal cast members, either. That's huge.
Consistency is so hard to maintain in the NFL, especially for a team as good as the Cardinals were last year. Yes, exceptional quarterbacks typically stay put, but it's usually at the expense of the rest of the roster.
Arizona has lucked out with its contract situations and remains an NFC and Super Bowl contender that you should ride during the offseason and in the middle of the regular season.
The offense in particular looks scary good on paper. Carson Palmer has two awesome running backs behind him in David Johnson and Chris Johnson. And he also has the most deadly three-headed receiving attack in all of football, a monster made up of Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown and Michael Floyd.
Do not underestimate this group at the sportsbooks. Their odds will only decrease in sportbettors' favor as the season wears on, so it's best to invest in their division, conference and Super Bowl stocks early, preferably before the season officially kicks off.
As with every team that deploys a top tier offense and defense, the Arizona Cardinals shouldn't be viewed as perpetual over or under plays.
It is too hard to predict which way their scores will go. They can lockdown opposing offenses, driving down the overall score total, but they can also pile on the points in a way that's enough for both sides, which elevates the total score.
If a pattern emerges during the middle of the season, you can pivot on your stance.
Maybe the Cardinals' offense or defense regresses, rendering them an over or under specialist. It's unlikely, given that they ranked inside the top seven of both categories last season, but it's never a bad idea to seek confirmation for your own betting trends.
To start the season, though, you're best off working the spreads and moneylines—particularly the spreads.
Moneylines aren't lucrative avenues for Super Bowl contenders. They'll be expected to be favored in just about every game, severely diminishing the possible return on their win-or-lose odds.
But feel free, as usual, to marry these lopside moneylines to parlays. The goal in these scenarios is to pair a series of low-return bets you deem virtual sure things to one another. This way, your potential return increases without significantly advancing the involved risk.
Spreads are more of a lone bet deal, though you can attach them to parlays if you're feeling confident. In the Cardinals' case try investing in games that pit them against teams with a one way identity—squads that are good on offense and bad on defense, or vice versa. Their balance in those situations is more likely to create substantial mid-game separation.
