NFL Football: New England Patriots VS Arizona Cardinals Prediction, Odds and Preview - 12/12/2022

 

Game Time: 8:15 PM ET,  Monday, December 12th, 2022

Venue:  State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Where to Watch: ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN Deportes

FanDuel:  Patriots -1.5, O/U 43.5

BetMGM:  Patriots -1.5, O/U 43.5

PointsBet:  Patriots -2, O/U 43.5

Patriots: 6-6,  4th place AFC East

Cardinals: 4-8, 3rd place NFC West

An NFL inter-conference battle between two of the lesser teams from two of the most competitive divisions.  The Patriots have had many fine years over the last 2 decades… Big wins, memorable storylines, trophies, coaching job security that has never been seen before, a quarterback that is not only on the way to the hall of Fame… but will always be known as the best ever… accomplishments that will not soon if ever get eclipsed.  Thai however is not the Patriots year.  The Patriots no longer have that quarterback… and no one is all that thrilled with the quarterback they do have.  The Patriots are at .500 with a 6-6 record… but the Bills, the Dolphins, and the Jets all have better records.  Without a winning streak in the last 5 games of the season.. It is unlikely they will be spotted in the postseason.  Head Coach Bill Belichick is certainly the best football coach in the history of the NFL… a defensive minded guy who is starting to feel a bit like a Dinosaur with a zombie style offense.  The Arizona Cardinals are a mess of uncertainty… They would very much like to put out the dumpster fire, but no one has any idea who is actually in charge of the fire extinguisher.  This was supposed to be a great Cardinals year because of after months and months of waffling over whether to give their QB a GIANT contract.. They finally gave in and signed him for big bucks.  Young QB Kyler Murray is both mobile and can pass out of the pocket… he’s just a little undersized, not a great leader (not my words… his teammates said that), and totally undisciplined.  Kyler’s Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury may need to polish that resume because he has so far only been able to manage good starts to the season… this season he didn’t even accomplish that.  The Cardinals are in 3rd place in the NFC West, but at 4-8… they won’t be catching the 49ers or Seahawks anytime soon.

The New England Patriots are on a 2-game losing streak which is sinking their season if they can’t turn things around.  They lost their last game 24-10 to the Buffalo Bills… Not terrible as the Bills are really really good with a better offense, defense, and QB by far.  In that game New England quarterback Mac Jones posted the very boring numbers of 22 completions on 36 pass attempts with 1 TD and 0 INT.  Each Patriots game that Mac Jones acts as “game manager” feels like that old movie quote “just like a — to bring a knife to a gun fight.”  Head Coach Bill Belichick can not help himself… an exciting quarterback would mean that somebody in the locker room might talk back to him or have their own ideas… and the one thing Belichick hates is simply not being the only opinion that matters.  The best day on the whole Patriots roster belonged to kick returner Marcus Jones who had a 30 yard return to cheers from the home fans… other than that the Patriots looked stuck in molasses.

The Arizona Cardinals have come apart at the seams… They are on a 2-game losing streak and are ultimately losers of 4 of their last 5 games. Add to that that the only team they beat in the last five games was the lowly Los Angeles Rams before they scooped up Baker Mayfield but after Cooper Kupp and Matt Stafford were too dinged to be helpful.  The Cardinals lost their last game to the Los Angeles Chargers 25-24.  It was super close… but close doesn’t count in the standings.  QB Kyler Murray completed 18 of 29 passes for 191 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT… he also ran for 56 yards on 7 carries.  Add to that RB James Conner plowed for 120 yards on 25 carries.. However Conner also lost a fumble.  It was a day of highs and lows… and ultimately the Cardinals defense could not stop the Chargers QB Justin Herbert from throwing for 3 TDs.  The final difference was just a point… so the Cardinals did get the win ATS against a 2.5 point favorite Chargers… It’s the little things. 

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NEP: 6-6, 6-5-1 ATS, 5-7 O/U, 3-3 in road games.

ARI: 4-8, 6-6 ATS, 7-5 O/U, 1-5 in home games.

The Patriots are 20th in scoring with 20.8 points per game, 26th in total yards with 318.9 per game, 20th in passing yards with 214 per game, and 23rd in rushing yards with 104.9 per game.

The Cardinals are 16th in scoring with 22 points per game, 24th in total yards with 334.8 per game, 17th in passing yards with 219.8 per game, and 21st in rushing yards with 114.9 per game.

The Patriots defense is 7th in defense of total yards with 311.8 allowed per game, 9th in defense of passing yards with 200.6 per game allowed, 12th in rushing yards with 111.2 per game allowed, and 8th in defense of total points with 18.8 per game allowed.

The Cardinals are 21st in defense of total yards with 356.2 per game allowed, 24th in defense of passing yards with 245.4 per game allowed, 11th in rushing yards with 110.8 per game allowed, 31st in points scored with 26.8 per game allowed.

Our prediction for Monday, December 12th is…. Patriots 27 - Cardinals 17

 

Bet on the Patriots.  Belichick has a much better defense and he will insist his team conduct themselves as adults with patience and game plan.  On the other hand Kingsbury has a bad defense and is not in charge of his team or his quarterback… Kingsbury is a cool babysitter that will soon be dismissed so the Cardinals can enroll their quarterback in private school with much tougher supervision.  

 

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The Patriots are 7-1 ATS versus the Cardinals since 1992.

The Patriots are 4-0 ATS versus the Cardinals in Arizona since 1992.

The Cardinals are 14-7 ATS as an underdog the last 3 seasons.

Patriots: QB Mac Jones, RB Rhamondre Stevenson, WR DeVante Parker, WR Tyquan Thornton, WR Jakobi Meyers, TE Hunter Henry, LT Trent Brown, LG Cole Strange, C David Andrews, RG Mike Onwenu, RT Conor McDermott

Cardinals: QB Kyler Murray, RB James Conner, WR Marquise Brown, WR DeAndre Hopkins, WR AJ Green, TE Trey McBride, LT Josh Jones, LG Rachaad Coward, C Billy Price, RG Max Garcia, RT Kelvin Beachum

Partly Cloudy, Humidity 56%, wind 7 mph, 56*