After a home loss against the New England Patriots, the Carolina Panthers (4-5) are back on the road, this time to Arizona. As for the Cardinals (8-1), they crushed the San Francisco 49ers and will be looking to do the same to Carolina.
Can the Panthers beat the team with the best record in the league? Below, we’ll take a look at the early NFL odds and the best sportsbook to bet with.
Sunday, November 14, 2021 – 04:05 PM EST at State Farm Arena
The Panthers entered last week as 3-point underdogs and remain the underdogs for this matchup. As for the Cardinals, they were just 1.5-point favorites in Week 9 and are still the favored team this week. According to Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review), Arizona is a 10.5-point favorite over Carolina with the over/under at 44.5.
Carolina has been one of the inconsistent teams in the league this year and lost five of their last six games after kicking off the season 3-0. Their early-season wins came over the Jets, Saints, and Texans. From there they hit a four-game skid against the Cowboys, Eagles, Vikings, and Giants.
In their most recent 24-6 loss to the Patriots, quarterback Sam Darnold threw three interceptions, and running back Christian McCaffrey made his return from the IR with 52 yards on 14 rushing attempts. Carolina only scored in one quarter and couldn’t find the end zone at all after that.
Their offense also posted only 4.2 yards a play against the Patriots and had three turnovers plus 10 penalties. They will be without Darnold for this matchup as he’s expected to miss “several weeks” due to a right shoulder injury. Backup PJ Walker will take his place.
The narrative has been different for the Arizona Cardinals. They were extremely shorthanded on Sunday, without their starting QB Kyler Murray, top wideouts in DeAndre Hopkins, and A.J. Green, but still knocked out a 31-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
Backup QB Colt McCoy took over the starting job for Murray and passed for 249 yards and a touchdown. Running back James Conner led the rushers with 96 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. The defense was also on fire and took down 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo five times and had three takeaways.
Before losing to the Packers 31-24 in Week 8, the Cardinals were on a seven-game victory streak. They’ve been able to beat the Titans, Vikings, Jaguars, Rams, Browns, Texans, and 49ers twice this season.
The Cardinals should have both their starting QB, Kyler Murray, and star wide receiver, DeAndre Hopkins, back for this matchup. If they were able to do that to a 49ers team full of weapons without some of their key players, it’ll be interesting to see what they can do to a weak Carolina team who will be playing with an inexperienced NFL quarterback.
Walker might give fans some hope for a minute, but this Super Bowl-bound Arizona team will crush their hopes and dreams so back ’em for your NFL pick in this one.
NFL Pick: Cardinals -10.5 (-109) at Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.