NFL Football Betting: Carolina Panthers at Arizona Cardinals

To avoid an 0-3 start, the Carolina Panthers must go on the road and pick up a win over the Arizona Cardinals without their star quarterback. Cam Newton has been ruled out for Sunday’s game due to a foot injury, putting second-year quarterback Kyle Allen in the spotlight. This will be the second start of Allen’s young career, and the move from Newton to Allen has led to a major shift in the NFL betting odds.

CAROLINA PANTHERS AT ARIZONA CARDINALS
LINE: CARDINALS -2
TOTAL: 45

Newton didn’t miss a snap in Carolina’s Thursday night game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week, so the oddsmakers were caught off guard when it was announced earlier in the week that there was a chance Newton wouldn’t play on Sunday. Carolina was initially a 3.5-point road favorite on the football betting line, but the Newton news led to Arizona becoming a short favorite. The total has remained unchanged.

INJURY REPORT

Arizona will be without offensive lineman Lamont Gaillard for this game as he deals with a knee injury. Defensive end Jonathan Bullard, linebacker Ezekiel Turner, and cornerback Chris Jones are all questionable, somewhat limiting the Cardinals’ options on defense.

The Newton injury is the most important one for the visitors, but there are some other key injuries Carolina is dealing with too. Guard Brandon Greene, safety Rashaan Gaulden, and defensive end Bruce Irvin were all ruled out on Thursday. Additionally, Greg Olsen and Kawann Short are considered questionable.

WHEN ARIZONA IS ON OFFENSE

No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray has looked sharp as a rookie. Murray did not play well in the first three quarters of Arizona’s opener against Detroit, but he figured things out in the fourth quarter and overtime and posted good numbers against Baltimore last week. The rookie has completed 57.4 percent of his passes for 657 yards with two touchdowns and one interception on the year, and Kliff Kingsbury is going to let him keep throwing and figure things out on his own.

Murray’s numbers are more impressive considering that Arizona’s receivers are ranked dead last in the league in separation. Larry Fitzgerald continues to get it done at the age of 36, and Christian Kirk has had a good start to his sophomore season. However, the catch rate of both players is indicative of their inability to get open, so taking the under on their NFL player props could be a wise idea.

David Johnson has not had nearly the amount of touches we expected this season, averaging just 16 touches a game through Arizona’s first two games. Kingsbury may look to get his Pro Bowl running back more involved here.
Carolina has done a good job of defending the pass this season. The Panthers are allowing under 200 yards per game through two games, so something will have to give in the battle between this secondary and Murray.

WHEN CAROLINA IS ON OFFENSE

Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray used to be teammates. The two were both five-star quarterback recruits, and both Allen and Murray committed to play for Kevin Sumlin at Texas A&M. However, Allen and Murray transferred out of Texas A&M within two weeks of each other at the end of the 2015 campaign, and the inability to keep talented quarterbacks on campus led to Sumlin being fired by the school in 2017. In an interesting coincidence, he is now the head coach at the University of Arizona, so he can see his former recruits square off on Sunday.

Allen’s first NFL start was in last year’s season finale against the New Orleans Saints. He went 16-27 for 228 yards with two touchdowns through the air and ran for another score in a Carolina victory. Those numbers are encouraging, but it’s important to keep in mind that the Panthers were playing a New Orleans team that was sitting key starters.

With Newton out and Olsen banged up, Christian McCaffrey figures to receive a lot of touches on Sunday. McCaffrey has carried the ball 35 times and been targeted 17 times through two games, and he stands to see an uptick in action. That should lead to some additional value in his NFL player futures.

Arizona’s defense is the second worst in the NFL in terms of total yards allowed, and that’s a major concern. The Cardinals have had a really difficult time in the secondary without Patrick Peterson, so Allen could have some real success.

PREDICTION

Carolina has more talent on the roster than Arizona, and I believe Allen will have some success against the Cardinals’ secondary. The Panthers are a great moneyline pick on Sunday afternoon.

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