We don’t preview many Thursday night games, but the matchup this Thursday is between two of the best teams in the NFL, as the Green Bay Packers visit the Arizona Cardinals in a game that can be seen on FOX. The Packers are 6-1 with Aaron Rodgers leading a potent offense, while the Cardinals are 7-0 and the only unbeaten team in the NFL. The early money on this game has come in on the Cardinals, as they have gone from a 3-point favorite to a 4-point choice. Let’s look at this contest and Thursday Night NFL picks.
NFL Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
Green Bay Packers +4
Arizona Cardinals -4
Total 53
Green Bay Packers
The Packers come into this game at 6-1 SU and 6-1 ATS. Despite having a potent offense, the Packers have gone under in five of their seven games this season. Green Bay is thought of as an offensive team but they are averaging just 24 points per game which is 17th in the league. The defense has been better than expected, as the Packers are giving up just 20.9 points per game, 8th in the league. It will be interesting to see how Green Bay’s defense does this week as defensive coordinator Joe Barry tested positive for COVID and he is expected to miss this game.
The Packers have won six straight games but their schedule gets a lot tougher over the next month. The Packers have the Cardinals, Chiefs, Seahawks, Vikings and Rams coming up. Green Bay’s first seven opponents have a combined record of 18-26. Its next five opponents are 21-12 and three of those five games are on the road and the two home games will be against teams coming off their bye week.
Arizona Cardinals
Arizona is 7-0 SU and 6-1 ATS. They have gone under the total in four of their seven games. The Cardinals are averaging 32.1 points per game which is 4th-best in the NFL. They are giving up just 16.3 points per game and that is tops in the league.
The Cardinals are getting excellent play from a number of players including quarterback Kyler Murray. He is always a threat to run the ball and Green Bay’s defense struggled a week ago against Washington quarterback Taylor Heinicke. “K1, he’s a different animal,” said Packers inside linebacker De'Vondre Campbell to the media, “His scrambling ability is just a little bit different than the guys we’ve played over the past two weeks. I got to practice against him every day last year for a year straight, so I understand what type of player he is and I understand what we’re going up against. We just have to come up with a really good plan to contain him. With a player like that, you can’t stop him. You just have to try to contain him.”
Thursday Night NFL Picks
Have you noticed just how many good players the Cardinals have added to their team in the last couple of years? I am not a fan of head coach Kliff Kingsbury but I really like what general manager Steve Keim has done. He has added DeAndre Hopkins, A.J. Green, J.J. Watt and Zach Ertz in the last couple of years. Arizona is not a fluke, as they are very good on both sides of the ball. I am not entirely sold on their defense, as I don’t think they are a defense that is the best in the NFL, as they have benefited from playing some bad teams like Houston and Jacksonville and some other questionable offenses like San Francisco and Minnesota.
I think you can make a case for a couple of plays on Thursday night. This is a show me game for the Cardinals, so I will lay the points and take Arizona. I am also not entirely sold on either of these defenses being great, so I will also play the game over the total.
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