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The Cardinals were just minutes shy of winning last February’s Super Bowl, but came up short. Arizona (3-2 straight up, against the spread) then found itself in the spot of trying to make the postseason after losing the big game: a feat last accomplished by the Seattle Seahawks in 2007.
Arizona will get its chance to prove that they have what it takes to make its second straight playoff run since Gerald Ford was president by taking on the Giants at 8:30 p.m. EDT on NBC’s Sunday Night Football.
There is reason to believe that the Cards will be back in the postseason after what we’ve seen out of them over the last two weeks.
Ken Whisenhunt’s crew was able to use a goal line stand to hold off the Texans’ comeback bid for a 28-21 win as six-point home favorites on Oct. 18. Arizona’s defense has stepped up in a big way this season, ranking eighth in scoring defense (18.4 points per game) and tops in stopping the run (59.6 rushing yards per game). Last year, the Cardinals were giving up 110.3 YPG on the ground and teams were scoring 26.6 PPG.
Last Sunday, Kurt Warner completed 32 of his 41 passes for 276 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Cards dominated Seattle as three-point road pups 27-3. And Arizona’s defense absolutely manhandled the Seahawks by not allowing them to convert any of their 11 third downs. They also sacked Matt Hasselbeck five times for a total of 40 yards.
New York (5-1 SU, 4-2 ATS) enters this game with something to prove after getting smacked down last weekend against the Saints as a three-point road underdog, 48-27. The Giants couldn’t find any rhythm on offense, converting three of their 10 third downs.
Eli Manning was playing in his own personal Hell by completing only 14 of his 31 passes for 178 yards with one pick and one score. To give you an idea of how bad it was for Manning, he completed back-to-back passes just three times against New Orleans.
The Giants’ running game didn’t do anything to help out either by gaining a paltry 84 yards against the Saints. Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs had just 17 carries combined. Bradshaw normally has 11.3 carries per game, while Jacobs handles the ball 17.8 times per game this season.
While New York couldn’t make any ground by running the ball, its defense failed to hold down the Saints’ rushing game. New Orleans picked up 133 yards last weekend. This shouldn’t surprise anyone as the Giants also gave up 251 yards on the ground to Dallas in Week 2. All told, the G-men have given up 110.3 YPG this season. Compare that to last year when they were allowing 95.8 YPG.
What bodes well for the Giants is the fact that Arizona rarely runs the ball. The Cards are dead last in the NFL with 19.8 carriers per game so far this year for an average of 57.6 YPG on the ground. That’s right, the Rams, Buccaneers and Titans are having more success than the defending NFC champs at running the ball.
This game does mean a lot to both sides, but a victory carries more weight for Arizona right now. The Cardinals are currently tied with San Francisco for the lead in the NFC West. And the odds are very good that only one of those two teams will get a ticket to the postseason. New York is currently sporting a 1 ½-game lead on the Cowboys and one-game spread on the Eagles in the NFC East right now.
Las Vegas Sports Consultants initially opened the line for this game with the Giants as 6 ½-point home favorites with the total of 48. Bodog, like many other sportsbooks, have now set New York as a seven-point home “chalk” with the total moving down to 46. You’re getting great value to take the Cardinals to get the outright win on a plus-260 (risk $100 to win $260).
Arizona has come through as a road pup this year, going 3-0 SU and ATS. The ‘under’ has hit in two of those three. The Cards are just 1-2 SU when listed as road underdogs after winning outright as a road pup the week before, but a stellar 3-0 ATS.
Home teams in the NFL this season that are seven-point favorites or more are 21-4 SU, but 15-10 ATS.
Over the last three seasons, New York is 8-1 SU and 6-3 ATS when a seven-point home fave. The ‘over’ is 6-3 for the Giants in those matchups.
The favorites have been paying off recently on Sunday Night Football as they’ve covered the spread in three straight games. The ‘under’ has been the right wager for NBC’s showcase tilt by going 5-2.
You can reach Judd Hall via e-mail at judd@vegasinsider.com
