Detroit Lions vs Arizona Cardinals Picks and Predictions Week 15
Detroit Lions vs Arizona Cardinals Betting Preview
WagerTalk NFL handicapper Andy Lang offers his Detroit Lions vs Arizona Cardinals NFL Week 15 betting preview. At the time of posting, the Cardinals have climbed to a 13-point road favorite in Detroit, with the total sitting at 46.5 points.
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| NFL Week 15 | Betting Notes |
|---|---|
| Point Spread: | Arizona Cardinals -13 at Detroit Lions |
| Total: | 46.5 Points |
| Game Time: | 1:00pm ET / 10:00am PT on Sunday, December 19 |
| Stadium: | Ford Field in Detroit |
| TV: | FOX |
Detroit Lions vs Arizona Cardinals Predictions
The Lions got their first win this season against Minnesota, and then got crushed by the Broncos in an obvious let down spot for them. Unfortunately, they’re going to get a pissed off Cardinals team who just lost a big game against a rival and now needs to get this win as their three games after this are going to be tough (Colts, Cowboys, Seahawks).
The Cardinals open up at -13.5 and the total in this game is 46.5, and an interesting streak to follow the Cardinals are 7-0 ATS on the road, and can become the only team in NFL history to cover 9 road games in the regular season.
We know about the Lions season, and some of the heart breaking losses they’ve had this season, and despite them having one win they are 8-5 ATS, and 4-2 at home ATS so lets not just assume they get blown out every game. They give up the 5th most rushing yards a game, and are 16th against the pass, but they give up a lot of points including 28 or more in seven games this season.
The players seem to have bought into the coach, and they definitely don’t quit, but they have very few weapons on offense as Swift and Jamaal Williams were out last week and they did manage to rush for 118 yards, but with no credible threat in the receiving game Goff only threw for 215 against Denver, and that’s been a theme this season as they only throw for 200 yards a game.
The Cardinals have to be upset about the loss to LAR as they were driving early to go up 10-0 before a tipped pass interception turned the tide for Arizona and then very questionable strategy late in the game sealed their fate. I don’t want to overreact to this one game because of how good Arizona has been this season. They are 9th in yards per game on offense, and 5th in yards allowed per game on defense and that will win you a lot of games in the NFL, and it will also get you to cover a lot of games. They are 9-4 ATS this season and as mentioned earlier they are 7-0 on the road ATS.
Both teams are coming off losses and obviously Arizona has all the motivation in the world to win, but 13.5 points is a lot, especially considering they have three tough games after this. I’m guessing Kingsbury will not want to show a lot in his playbook in this one and we could see a vanilla offense.
I do think Arizona will want to get out to a big lead and drain the clock late, so I’ll take Arizona -7.5 first half to avoid the back door cover late. Arizona is 8-5 ATS in the first half this season and 6-1 ATS on the road while Detroit is 1-5 ATS at home. Give me a motivated Cardinals team to take out some frustration early and get up two scores by halftime.
OFFICIAL PLAY: Cardinals -7.5 First Half
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Detroit Lions vs Arizona Cardinals Analysis from GoldSheet
Detroit looked like what it is, a team relieved to have collected its first victory in its last 16 games a week ago against Minnesota, and the Lions promptly took a big exhale and started a new losing streak, falling 38-10 at Denver, committing more turnovers than they scored TDs. (We think we caught “1-2-3…Cancun!” picked up over the mikes on the Detroit sideline.)
The goal now could be just to get out of the season in one piece. QB Jared Goff averaged just 5.1 yds. per attempt last week, and the defense showed its surge in recent weeks (holding Pitt, Cleveland, Chicago and Minny to 18 ppg) might be a false-positive, as the Lions faced mostly flawed attacks. Denver RBs Melvin Gordon III and Javonte Williams combined for 184 YR and 3 rushing TDs, while Broncos’ “Teddy Two-Gloves” completed 18 of 25 for a couple of TDs against a Detroit defense that wasn’t exactly fierce.
Arizona has won and covered all 7 road games this season and in a tight chase with Tampa Bay and Green Bay for the best record in the NFC. And and now that it’s coming off a bitter Monday night loss to the Rams, note Big Red has won and covered immediately after its three previous defeats this season. Duly note that the Lions, even though they are 1-11-1 this season, are also 8-5 against the points and getting double digits at home in this one.
NFL Week 15 Opening Line Report
The push toward the 2021-22 NFL playoffs is officially on. In this week’s edition of The Opening Line Report, Teddy Covers and Drew Martin break down the Week 15 betting market from three key angles: a) What were the look-ahead lines from last week; b) Where did the lines re-open after Sunday’s action; c) Where the lines are heading before kickoff this week. Join Teddy and Drew every Monday for this informative NFL betting exercise. We begin the Detroit Lions vs Arizona Cardinals discussion at the 35:15 timestamp.
WagerTalk Live Odds Screen
WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the moneylines, point spreads, first half lines and betting percentages for all of the NFL Week 15 games, including this Detroit Lions vs Arizona Cardinals showdown, from your desktop or phone.
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