The Arizona Cardinals had a dreadful 2018 season — even more dreadful than the Vegas prognosticators thought. Their win total was set at 5 ½ games, but the under came through big-time, as the Cards only won three contests. In the offseason, they brought in a new head coach in Kliff Kingsbury, from Texas Tech, and the Cardinals dealt quarterback Josh Rosen to Miami (getting fleeced in the process, according to multiple commentators) so that they could draft Kyler Murray #1 overall to lead the Cardinals’ offense into the next decade. They also signed a number of free agents, but so far Vegas is not impressed, because the win total for the Cardinals is just 5 games right now. Are you considering NFL futures in your sports betting? Take a look at our thoughts about Arizona Cardinals’ prospects to beat this win total.
Arizona Cardinals 2019 NFL Season Win/Loss Betting Predictions
Kyler Murray has been a winner everywhere he has gone. At Allen (TX) High School, he started 42 games, and they won them all. They won three straight state championships, and Murray won the MVP award of the state final each time. He was Gatorade’s Player of the Year. This was at the 6A level, the largest classification in a state that is full of blue-chip football prospects. In three years, he threw for 10,386 yards and 117 touchdown passes, and he ran for 4,129 yards and scored 69 more touchdowns. He put up 4,713 all-purpose yards and 54 touchdowns combined as a senior. At Oklahoma, Murray just started one year, but he went 12-2 and won the Heisman Trophy. He passed for 4,361 yards with 42 touchdown passes against just seven interceptions, and he ran for 1,001 yards and scored a dozen touchdowns with his legs. After the Cardinals hired Kingsbury, he signaled right away that he would draft the quarterback whom he first met while coaching at Texas Tech. The challenges in Arizona are significant. The Cardinals haven’t made the postseason since the 2015 season, and they don’t have a reliable running back option at this point. David Johnson has put up huge numbers in the past but struggled in 2018, as then-rookie quarterback Josh Rosen had a hard time finding his way in the NFL. Hakeem Butler, who joins Murray in the 2019 rookie class, is impressed by Murray’s resume — but how well will Murray do? Some point to the unreal rookie season that Dak Prescott had in Dallas, when he and fellow rookie Ezekiel Elliott became the first rookie duo to make the Pro Bowl as a quarterback and running back, respectively. However, the Cowboys had a stellar offensive line and a defense that could get stops when they needed to — and the Cowboys went 13-3 before losing in the divisional round of the playoffs. It’s more likely that the Cardinals will struggle, as Murray negotiates the differences between college football and the NFL. The game is faster, and while no one doubts Murray’s speed, questions about his height remain. The Cardinals also have a tough division, with the NFC champion Rams, the resurgent 49ers and the still-scary Seahawks dwelling in the NFC West with them. The Cardinals also face the NFC South and the AFC North in their schedule, which is ranked the 12th most difficult in the league. The finishing stretch is particularly brutal, with five games against the Rams, Steelers and Browns at home, followed by the Seahawks and Rams on the road.Arizona Cardinals 2019 NFL Season Schedule
- Week 1: Detroit
- Week 2: at Baltimore
- Week 3: Carolina
- Week 4: Seattle
- Week 5: at Cincinnati
- Week 6: Atlanta
- Week 7: at N.Y. Giants
- Week 8: at New Orleans
- Week 9: San Francisco
- Week 10: at Tampa Bay
- Week 11: at San Francisco
- Week 12: BYE
- Week 13: L.A. Rams
- Week 14: Pittsburgh
- Week 15: Cleveland
- Week 16: at Seattle
- Week 17: at L.A. Rams
