The Arizona Cardinals kick off the preseason in Glendale against the Dallas Cowboys on Friday night. Arizona sports betting apps aren’t legal just yet, but Cardinals' futures odds and those for tonight's game are posted.
The Cardinals are coming off an 8-8 campaign in 2020, missing the NFL playoffs for the fifth straight season. Arizona is currently a 1.5-point favorite to defeat Dallas in the presason opener, with a -127 moneyline; and the over/under currently sits at 40, per BetMGM.
The game kicks off at 7 p.m. PT (10 p.m. ET) and will be televised on NFL Network and streamed on DAZN. Arizona sports betting begins on Sept. 9, the start of the NFL season. The Cardinals open the season on Sept. 12 at the Tennessee Titans.
Other AZ Odds
If you're thinking about joining one of the many expected Arizona NFL betting sites, here are some odds to keep in mind as the NFL season kicks off. The Cardinals will lean heavily on third-year starting quarterback Kyler Murray.
PointsBet has the Cardinals +105 for the over 8.5 wins this season. Arizona is +2000 to win the NFC on WynnBet, sitting in the middle of the pack in the conference.
Murray, the former Heisman Trophy-winning gunslinger enters the 2021 season with the 10th-best odds to win the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award, at +2000, per DraftKings.
JJ Watt, who joined the Cardinals during NFL free agency on a two-year deal, is +4000 at Ceasers to win defensive player of the year. Watt won it three times with the Houston Texans from 2011-20, notching 531 tackles and 101 sacks.
Inside linebacker Zaven Collins is +1300 to win defensive rookie of the year at FanDuel.
Arizona Starters To Keep An Eye On
Receiver A.J. Green was a three-time NFL All-Pro receiver as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals between 2011-20, pulling down 649 receptions for 9,430 yards and 65 touchdowns. He signed a one-year, $6 million contract with the club during the offseason.
Green will be relied upon to take some of the pressure off Cardinals’ No. 1 receiver, DeAndre Hopkins, who is coming off a red-hot 2020 campaign.
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Hopkins posted his third-best yardage (1,407, to be exact) on 115 receptions in 16 starts a year ago, accounting for nearly half of Murray’s 3,971 passing yards and 375 completions.
Green’s productivity waned over the last two years with the Bengals, after posting five 1,000-yard campaigns in seven years.
Whether he can bounce back after posting yearly totals of 694 and 523 receiving yards in 2018 and 2020 remains to be seen.
Another new name on Arizona’s roster that should help take pressure off Hopkins is rookie slot receiver Rondale Moore.
Moore was a threat in all facets of the game during his three-year career at Purdue, pulling in 178 catches for 1,915 yards and 14 touchdowns, and was named to the All-America team during his freshman season in 2018.
If Moore and Green can contribute at the levels they’ve reached at their previous stops, then the Cardinals’ passing game can be a lethal threat during the NFL’s first-ever 17-game regular season.
Don’t be surprised if Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury keeps his cards close to his vest Friday, however, with the third-year coach saying as much during a chat with members of the media this week.
"We were trying to keep it all tucked in, hide the offense, and like I said (before), it was a mistake," Kingsbury said. "This year, we will be a little bit more open and play our game to an extent."
