Sunday sees Kyler Murray lead his Arizona Cardinals into Minneapolis to face the Minnesota Vikings. Only two teams have a better record in the NFC than the Vikings, in stark contrast to the Cardinals, who have the worst record in their division.
Is there as much of a difference between these teams as it seems? Don’t miss our NFL picks and predictions for the Arizona Cardinals vs. Minnesota Vikings to find out.
Cardinals vs Vikings best odds
Cardinals vs Vikings picks and predictions
On Sunday, two teams meet with vastly different narratives around their seasons to date. The Vikings sit at the top of the NFC North, two wins clear of the Packers and Bears, despite coming into this game following a bye. The start of their season has been brilliant, and they’ve won four games in a row.
Meanwhile, in Arizona, the Cardinals are rooted to the bottom of the NFC West, with the Seahawks at the top of the division. Despite being 3-4, they’re level with the Rams and 49ers and only one win back from the leaders.
The best bet on this game revolves around Irv Smith Jr., the Vikings tight end who was selected in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. The former Alabama product has been spoken about as a potential breakout candidate since arriving in the NFL.
Smith missed last year with an injury but has been great in six games so far this season. He’s found the end zone twice, hauling in 18 catches for 140 yards. He’s on track to exceed his best season in 2020, in which he caught 30 passes for 365 yards and five touchdowns.
If you look at the Cardinals' defense, they’ve been poor against TEs this season. Only the Seahawks have allowed more yardage per game to the position that the Cardinals, who have given up 77 receiving yards to TEs per game. They also have the second-worst record in terms of touchdowns scored by opposition TEs, allowing 0.86 touchdowns per game to the position.
With Smith being targeted in 20% of routes run, it makes sense to back the 24-year-old to score here.
My best bet: Irv Smith Jr. anytime touchdown (+200)
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Cardinals vs Vikings spread analysis
The Cardinals opened as 5.5-point underdogs, but in recent days that’s since come down to +3.5. The Cardinals are 4-3 against the spread this season, far better than the Vikings, who, at 2-4, have let bettors down regularly.
With the Cardinals having DeAndre Hopkins back on the field as well as having Robbie Anderson more familiar with the playbook, they should be even more dangerous in the passing game. It also looks like James Conner should play, but with Eno Benjamin doing well in his absence, it’ll be interesting to see what Kliff Kingsbury does.
Unlike most teams in the NFL, the Vikings remain incredibly healthy without any of their big-name players sustaining any injuries. They're coming into this game very fresh, given that they had a bye last week.
Despite Minnesota's advantage on the injury report, Arizona still has an explosive offense and is 20-8-2 in its last 30 games on the road. Not only that, but the Vikings are 0-4 ATS in their last four against NFC teams.
Cardinals vs Vikings Over/Under analysis
As mentioned earlier on in this article, this game has the third-highest point total on the day, and that number has risen since it opened. It was initially set at 48, but it’s grown by half a point to 48.5.
If you look at the trends, you can see that the Under is 5-1 in the Cardinals' past six games overall, as well as being 5-1 in their last six against NFC teams.
Not only that, but the Under is 4-0 in their last four against teams with a winning record and 15-2 in games on FieldTurf. Everything points us towards the Under, and with it being such a high total, I’d personally lean towards backing it to be a lower-scoring game than the sportsbooks expect.
Cardinals vs Vikings betting trend to know
The Under is 4-0 in the Cardinals' last four against a team with a winning record. Find more NFL betting trends for Cardinals vs. Vikings.
Cardinals vs Vikings game info
| Location: | U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN |
| Date: | Sunday, October 30, 2022 |
| Kickoff: | 1:00 p.m. ET |
| TV: | FOX |
| Opening odds: | Vikings -5.5, 47.5 O/U |
Cardinals vs Vikings latest injuries
Cardinals vs Vikings weather
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