The Arizona Cardinals have an identity crisis after two straight losses but are hoping a run-in with the winless New York Jets can serve as a simple solution in Week 5.
The NFL betting odds have Arizona as a 6.5-point road favorite in East Rutherford this Sunday, with the Cardinals playing their second straight game away from home and traveling to the East Coast to do so. The Jets, meanwhile, have enjoyed a mini bye after losing to the Denver Broncos last Thursday
Here are our NFL free picks and predictions for Cardinals vs. Jets on October 11.
Arizona Cardinals vs New York Jets betting preview
Weather
The forecast is calling for cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-60s with winds blowing up to 10 mph at MetLife Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our NFL weather info.
Key Injuries
Cardinals: Chris Banjo S (Out), Devon Kennard LB (Out).
Jets: Breshad Perriman WR (Out), Sam Darnold QB (Out), Mekhi Becton OT (Out), Bless Austin CB (Out).
Find our latest NFL injury reports.
Betting Trend to Know
The Jets are 4-10-1 ATS in their last 15 home games. Find more NFL betting trends for Cardinals vs. Jets.
Against the spread (ATS) pick
Arizona under a touchdown: it’s got to be a trap, right?
The Cardinals are a tempting play against the spread considering just how bad the Jets have been in 2020, punctuated by the Broncos’ makeshift offense scoring 37 points on New York last Thursday.
Update October 7: Jets QB Sam Darnold will miss Week 5 with a shoulder injury, leaving the offense in the hands of veteran Joe Flacco. Flacco completed both of his passes for a total of 16 yards against the Broncos last Thursday. This spread has climbed from Jets +6.5 to +7 as of Wednesday afternoon.
The Cardinals defense is respectable, but coming off a long day against Carolina. Arizona was bullied for 168 yards on the ground and allowed the Panthers to dominate time of possession to the tune of over 37 minutes. As for this week’s opponent, Gang Green is picking up only 4.1 yards per carry on the season and ranks 30th in TOP (26:11).
The Arizona stop unit was missing some key members and could have a trio of safeties back in Chris Banjo, Budda Baker, and Jalen Thompson (all questionable) which would inject some speed into this defense. There’s a sense of urgency for the Cardinals, especially with the strength of the NFC West, and what looked like a sure thing on the schedule is a desperation game for Kliff Kingsbury and his staff.
That -6.5 sure stinks of trap game, but not as much as the Jets stink overall. If you’re betting Arizona, make sure you get it under the touchdown.
PREDICTION: Arizona -6.5 (-110)
Over/Under pick
I highlighted this total in my weekly NFL “Bet Now/Bet Later”, suggesting that if you like the Under, you may want to wait this one out and see if you can get an extra half-point or so before pulling the trigger. The total opened as low as 46.5 and has jumped to 47.5 with some early play on the Over – just below the key O/U number of 48.
Arizona wasn’t explosive against the Panthers, topping out at a high of 25 yards through the air. The ground game – which could be without Kenyan Drake in Week 5 - only added up to 81 yards when you take Murray’s 48-yard dash out of the mix. On the season, the Cardinals have just nine passing plays of 20 or more yards – not what you would expect with DeAndre Hopkins running around out there.
The Jets scored 28 points against the Broncos last Thursday after posting a combined 37 points in their first three games of the schedule but needed three turnovers from Denver and a defensive touchdown to do so. New York hasn’t faced a total close to this number through four games in 2020 and hasn’t had an Over/Under this tall since Week 16 of the 2018 season.
PREDICTION: Under 47.5 (-110)
Team Total Pick
The Jets haven’t scored a lot of points, but when they do, it seems to come in the second half. New York is averaging 9.5 points in the final 30 minutes while boasting just 6.5 points through the first two quarters.
Gang Green has had just two touchdowns come in the opening 30 minutes of action, and if you take out the 13 points scored in the first half in last Thursday’s weird game, New York has managed only 13 first-half tallies in the first three games of the season.
I’m taking any Jets offensive positives from last week with a grain of salt. Sure, they had some receivers back, but New York was playing a Broncos defense with more holes in it than my lucky t-shirt from college that my wife keeps trying to throw out. And now we have old man Flacco coming in after Darnold showed flashes of brillance in Week 4.
PREDICTION: New York first half Under 9.5 points (+100)
Cardinals vs Jets betting card
- Arizona -6.5 (-110)
- Under 47.5 (-110)
- New York first half Under 9.5 points (+100)
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