As if Arizona Cardinals fans needed any reminders about the dismal projections for their team in the upcoming NFL season, along comes Circa Sports with a betting proposition that reinforces how poorly the Cards are expected to fare.
Circa Sports, which has one of the splashiest retail sportsbooks in Las Vegas and an emerging presence in online sports betting, recently released two sets of odds for opening streaks. Caesars Sportsbook Arizona also has opening streak odds for online sports betting in the state.
One set of odds was for whatever team would remain undefeated the longest. That is not the one where the Cardinals are the favorites.
The other side of that coin is a set of odds for what team will be the last one to get a win in the 2023 season.
For that dubious distinction, the Cardinals are runaway favorites.
Arizona at Top of Dubious List
Circa Sports has Arizona with the shortest odds to be the last team to notch a victory. The Cards are +460 to be the last team to get into the win column. At Arizona betting apps, the Cardinals are +420 to remain winless the longest.
As any Cardinals fan can tell you, the reason is obvious. Star quarterback Kyler Murray is on the mend from the surgical repair of his right knee’s anterior cruciate ligament, which occurred relatively late last season, in Week 14. A moderately optimistic schedule for his return would be mid-season. Even with Murray, Arizona was a challenged team.
In the Circa’s “last team to win a game” prop bet, Tampa Bay — now without GOAT quarterback Tom Brady — is second on the list at +775. The rest of the top (meaning bottom) seven are: Houston, +1100; the Los Angeles Rams, +1100; Tennessee, +1300; Indianapolis, +1400; Carolina, +1400, and Las Vegas, +1500.
Chiefs, Eagles Top Win Streak List
For the other season-opening streak prop bet, meaning the team to go undefeated the longest, the Philadelphia Eagles are the favorites at +650 followed by the defending Super Bowl champion Kanas City Chefs and Cincinnati Bengals, at +775.
Arizona sports betting sites list Kansas City as the Super Bowl favorite at +600, followed by Philadelphia at +750.
Looking at those two betting props — the last NFL team to lose, and the last team to win — it is the one about losing that may be less affected by unforeseen happenings, such as injuries or suspensions.
For instance, if the Eagles were to lose starting quarterback Jalen Hurts to an injury or if the same were to befall the Chiefs’ QB Patrick Mahomes, those strokes of bad fortune would certainly put a winning streak in jeopardy.
However, injuries to the Cardinals, unfortunate as any injury is, are not likely to diminish Arizona’s chances to remain winless.
And finally, in posting the early-season streak odds, there were some tiebreaker notes. Circa’s rules state: “If multiple teams go undefeated, the team that goes further in the playoffs would be considered the winner, and if multiple teams are the final teams to get their first win of the season on the same day, whoever wins later in the day will be considered the last winless team.”
BetMGM Sportsbook Arizona lists the odds of a team having either an undefeated or winless regular season the same — +1000.
