Arizona NFL betting kicks off for the Arizona Cardinals in the Music City on Sunday.
The Cardinals will play the Tennessee Titans at 10 a.m. Arizona time Sunday, in the first game for the team since sports betting in Arizona launched on Thursday.
Arizona betting apps favor the Titans slightly, but with the game in Tennessee, the line is consistent with the Titans being at home.
FanDuel Arizona, BetMGM Arizona and DraftKings Arizona list the Cardinals at +3 against Tennessee in the 12th meeting between the two franchises.
Those interested in Arizona Cardinals betting should check out Arizona sportsbook promos. WynnBET is offering three times the number of points that the underdog Cardinals are getting as part of its “Triple the Spread” promotion.
Watch Cardinals QB Kyler Murry
One thing to keep an eye on is the play of third-year QB Kyler Murray. The game is being televised on CBS.
Murray enters the year with the 10th best odds of winning the 2021 NFL MVP, thanks in large part to a sophomore season where he threw for 3,971 yards and 26 touchdowns (against 12 interceptions).
Murray will have a large portion of the offensive weaponry that he had at his disposal last season back this fall, including All-Pro wideout DeAndre Hopkins, who’s coming off a 115-reception, 1,407-receiving yard campaign in 2020.
Whether Murray, who finished second on the team with 819 rushing yards in 2020, can find room to run now that last year’s leading rusher, Kenyan Drake (955 yards) is with the Las Vegas Raiders, remains to be seen.
Head coach Kliff Kingsbury is expected to turn the keys over to fourth-year RB Chase Edmonds this year, after the former Fordham Ram ran for 448 yards and a touchdown in 2020.
If Edmonds can find running room against the Titans, then expect Murray to have greater flexibility in operating the patented run/pass option offense that Kingsbury has honed since his days as an offensive coordinator at Texas A&M.
JJ Watt’s Cardinals Debut
Another new piece in the teamwide puzzle for Kingsbury and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph is defensive end JJ Watt, who signed with the Cardinals as a free agent this offseason.
Watt has the third-best odds of winning the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year award, an honor he earned three times when he was with the Houston Texans, and adds an element in Joseph’s aggressive pass-rush schemes.
The Titans’ offensive line was formidable a year ago, ranking seventh in the league in sacks allowed (25), though the Cardinals finished fourth in the league in sacks a year ago, with 48 of them.
Watt, the 11th year pro out of Wisconsin, has seen his number of tackles decrease in each of the last two seasons, while finishing 2020 without a forced fumble.
It was the first time since 2016, when Watt was held to three games played, that he failed to cause a fumble in a season.
It appears that oddsmakers are bullish on Watt’s potential in Joseph’s defense, however, with Sunday’s game giving us a first glimpse at whether projection meets reality.
