An Early Look at the Arizona Cardinals NFL Odds for 2021

Kyler Murray enters his third NFL season in 2021 with high expectations. Last season, he completed 67.2% of his passes for 3,971 yards and 26 touchdowns. He also ran for 819 yards and 11 touchdowns, proving in his sophomore season that he’s one of the most dynamic QBs in the league.

These numbers have Arizona fans understandably excited, but how far can the Cardinals go? Today, I want to talk about my views on the Arizona Cardinals NFL odds for bettors.

Arizona Over/Under 9.5 (-110)

To me, this is the most interesting line in the NFC West. There are two things to consider with this bet. First, do you believe that Arizona can at least split each of their games against Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles? Second, do you think they can win at home against Green Bay in Week 8 or an away game at Cleveland in Week 6?

I think it’s possible that they beat Green Bay at home. It’s a Thursday night game, but while Green Bay has to travel from Wisconsin to Arizona, the Cardinals have a home game on Sunday night and then get to rest. Going to Cleveland will be tough. This will be the Cardinal’s third trip east in three games. They looked fine on defense against Tennessee, but Cleveland has a lot more talent on the offensive side of the ball.

I’m not sure that they can split all of their games against conference opponents. I could see Seattle or Los Angeles (most likely Seattle) beating them twice, putting them at 8 or 9 wins. Playing in Seattle is never an easy task, and the next time they play will be the last game of the season when Seattle should be competing for a division championship. Russell Wilson has proven that he can win big games late in the season, and Pete Carroll always finds a way to motivate his players in big moments.

Division Odds

The Cardinals are currently +550 to win the NFC West. Considering that this is the best division in football, I don’t see any pathway for them to pull out a division championship.

They’re +425 to finish in 2nd place, and +275 to finish in 3rd. The third-place bet intrigues me because of Kyler Murray and his corp of wide receivers. This team can get hot and put up a lot of points in a short amount of time. It’s hard to discount their ability to pull off a few upsets, which makes the +275 odds tempting, in my opinion.

They’re currently at -105 to finish fourth, which I feel is a safer bet. That’s not to say that Arizona isn’t a talented team. If they were in the NFC East, I’d probably pick them to win the division. For now, the division is too strong for me to put much faith in them this year.

Arizona Cardinals NFL Odds To Make the Playoffs (+180)

This is another interesting line. The Arizona Cardinals roster looks like they could make the playoffs, but the last time Arizona had a winning record on the road was in 2015. Along with divisional road games against Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, along with road games against Cleveland and Dallas (their 9th away game of the year).

Cleveland has one of the best rosters in the NFL. Defensively, they have a front four that can keep pressure on Murray and a serviceable secondary that should be able to prevent too many big plays from Arizona.

Meanwhile, it took a last-second field goal for Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers to beat the Cowboys last week. Dak Prescott put the NFL on notice with 403 passing yards. The combination of Prescott, Zeke, Amari Cooper, and CeeDee Lamb should be able to put up big numbers against the Cardinals.

NFL MVP Odds: Kyler Murray (+900)

A quarterback has won the NFL MVP award for the past eight seasons and 13 out of the past 14 years.

Kyler Murray will put up MVP numbers, but the odds are stacked against him winning the award. The last player on a non-playoff team to win the MVP was O. J. Simpson in 1973. Unless the Cardinals can make the postseason, it’s hard to believe the voters will give him the award if Arizona doesn’t clinch a playoff birth.

Place Your Bets on the Arizona Cardinals at BetMGM

The Arizona Cardinals NFL odds point to a rough season, but it should be fun to watch either way. With a talented young roster and stability in the coaching staff, the future is bright for this team.

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Get acquainted with our Arizona sports betting so you can start making bets today.