The Arizona Cardinals have a shot at extending the franchise’s longest winning streak in 47 years in northeast Ohio on Sunday.
The Cardinals, who are the lone unbeaten team in the NFL through five weeks, play the 3-2 Cleveland Browns at 1:05 p.m. Arizona time before a national audience on FOX.
Given their early-season success, the Cardinals have been the toast of online sports betting in Arizona.
Cardinals Are Underdogs in Week 6
The Cardinals are 2.5-point underdogs against the Browns on Sunday, according to BetMGM Arizona, DraftKings Arizona and FanDuel Arizona.
For those looking to place a moneyline wager at new Arizona sports betting apps, BetMGM Arizona has the Cardinals at +115, while DraftKings Arizona has them at +125 and FanDuel Arizona has the road team at +122 to win as of Monday afternoon.
Being an underdog is nothing new for Arizona, which has won both of its games this season when not favored — 38-13 at the Tennessee Titans (+2.5) in Week 1 and 37-20 at the Los Angeles Rams (+3.5) in Week 4.
The Cardinals are 4-1 against the spread in 2021. Their lone victory that failed to cover the spread was the one-point win over Minnesota in Week 2, when Arizona was a four-point favorite.
Kyler Murray’s Updated MVP Odds
Cardinals third-year quarterback Kyler Murray saw his one-week run as the 2021 NFL MVP favorite come to an end, with Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen overtaking the former Heisman Trophy winner.
Murray is currently ranked second in the NFL Most Valuable Player odds race by BetMGM Arizona at +500, just behind Allen (+450), and ahead of Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady, L.A. Chargers QB Justin Herbert and Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott (+650).
Murray and Allen are currently tied atop the odds leaderboard at FanDuel Sportsbook Arizona (+450), with the pair leading Herbert and Prescott, who are at +600 to win the award.
How the Cardinals Got to 5-0
The Cardinals improved to 5-0 for the first time since 1974 on Sunday, thanks in large part to their defense, which held the San Francisco 49ers to 338 yards in the team’s 17-10 victory in Glendale.
Arizona’s pass rush hit its marks Sunday, holding 49ers’ rookie QB Trey Lance to 192 yards and forcing an interception. The Cardinals’ rush also sacked Lance twice, holding the rookie to a 33.7 quarterback rating, according to ESPN.com.
Arizona jumped to a 10-0 lead at the half before withstanding a second-half run by the visitors from the Bay Area.
The defining score came with just over five minutes to play in the final quarter, when All-Pro WR DeAndre Hopkins hauled in a 9-yard touchdown to give the Cardinals a 17-7 lead.
It was smooth sailing from there for head coach Kliff Kingsbury and company to earn the club’s fifth straight win.
"I take them any way we can get them," Kingsbury said. "Especially division wins. (San Francisco's) a great team, great culture, they play so hard and play together and have great energy. So if you can beat them, that's a great Sunday."
The Cardinals’ latest win propelled them to the seventh-best Super Bowl odds across several sportsbooks, including BetMGM (+1200), FanDuel Sportsbook (+1300), Caesars Sportsbook (+1300) and DraftKings Sportsbook (+1400).
Hopkins summed up the team’s latest victory, declaring the Cardinals a contender.
"That's championship football," Hopkins said.
