It was only a handful of weeks ago that it felt like the Arizona Cardinals and Baltimore Ravens would be on pretty level terms coming into this Monday Night Football affair. Instead, asking Joe Flacco and Justin Forsett to get anything going versus this defense feels like a lesson in futility.
JOE FLACCO VS. CARSON PALMER FANTASY MATCHUP
Flacco has a real problem right now with his wide receivers. He's got Steve Smith Sr., who is quite possibly the best receiver he's ever had to throw the ball to in his career, but aside from that, there are just no weapons here whatsoever. Kamar Aiken? Maxx Williams? Crockett Gilmore? Kyle Juszcyk? Marlon Brown? Who are these guys?
The end result for Flacco has been ugly. He's averaging just 6.5 yards per pass attempt, and the only viable case you could make for him in a fantasy matchup against the Cardinals is pure volume.
Flacco is averaging 19.8 fantasy points per game by BookMaker's standards to his credit, but remember that he has averaged throwing the ball 41 times per game, a rate which just isn't sustainable, particularly against this stout Arizona defense.
Palmer meanwhile, is quietly one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL this year. He's averaging 23.8 fantasy points per game thanks to a 14/5 TD/INT ratio. Palmer continues to stretch out the field, turning both Larry Fitzgerald and John Brown into legitimate 1,000-yard threats, while Michael Floyd comes along with each passing week.
The Baltimore secondary is also atrocious. Ever since Terrell Suggs went down with a season-ending Achilles injury, things have fallen apart for these Ravens. In these last five games, they've averaged conceding 331 passing yards per game, and the only quarterback they didn't surrender at least 340 yards to was Michael Vick. The other four QBs also had at least two TD passes, too.
JUSTIN FORSETT NOT A GREAT BET FOR RUSHING SUCCESS
The case for Forsett, much like it is for Flacco, is about pure volume. Here we have a man who has had at least 17 rushes in each of his last three games, and after a slow start to the year, he's averaged over 100 yards per game in those contests.
Furthermore, after not having a single rush for more than 20 yards in his first three games, Forsett has ripped off four such runs in his last three, including at least one in each performance.
However, we have our concerns. Forsett has been battling an ankle injury the last couple weeks. He played through it against San Francisco, but he was spelled a lot as well by rookie Buck Allen, who seems to be getting more of the share of the work in this Baltimore backfield.
The real reason you want to bet against Forsett for prop purposes though, is the defense he's up against this week. Shredding Pittsburgh, Cleveland and San Francisco is nice, but doing it against what might be the best defense in the NFL is something totally different.
The Cardinals are allowing 104.5 rushing yards per game and 4.1 yards per carry, numbers which suggest mediocrity, but one has to remember that it has played against some nasty running games as well. Pittsburgh's ground game was helped out by Michael Vick running around last week, while Todd Gurley had his coming out party against this unit, too.
The Ravens are very likely going to be playing from behind in this one, and we fear that this game could end up getting ugly in the end. If that turns out to be the case, we could see a situation in which Forsett doesn't even get a dozen carries, and if he doesn't do at least that, he stands no chance to get to his rushing yardage total.
The NFL odds for this Monday contest were first released by BookMaker, and the Arizona Cardinals were positioned as 7-point favorites with a total of 49. Now you can wager in-game while the action unfolds with BookMaker's live betting option.
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The matchup between the Arizona Cardinals and Baltimore Ravens will take place Monday, October 26, 2015, at 8:30 p.m. ET at University of Phoenix Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN.
