The Arizona Cardinals have maintained their place in the challenging NFC West Division. They are currently second behind the Seattle Seahawks and are looking to continue their dominating performances that they've imposed over the past few weeks. After a shocking 34-31 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 9, the Cards will likely be out for blood against the Buffalo Bills.
They will try to take down the 7-2 Bills squad, which won't be simple. The Bills are coming off a huge win over the Seahawks and are riding the momentum of a three-game winning streak that has them atop the standings in the AFC East. Josh Allen has been nothing short of spectacular and will look to continue his performances against Arizona as well.
It won't be easy, but the Cardinals could possibly pull off a win in Week 10. Here are four hardcore predictions ahead of the Cardinals-Bills matchup.
4. Cardinals defense allows Josh Allen to throw for 300-plus yards
Allen has thrown for over 300 yards in two of his last three games. His latest performance of throwing for 415 yards came against a Seahawks defense that craves being on par with their offense. Even so, the Cardinals also statistically don't pose much of a threat to Allen let the numbers tell it. Miami Dolphins rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa just rattled off 248 yards while completing 71.4 percent of his passes for two touchdowns against them in Week 9.
If there's any indication from that, Allen is set for another huge performance.
While he hasn't found the complete list of ingredients against top tier defenses, he can make a meal out of subpar defenses on the regular. He's completing nearly 70 percent (68.9) of his passes for the season and has the 6th highest quarterback rating at the moment.
He'll likely turn in another performance similar to his Week 9 outing, throwing for over 300 yards.
3. Bills defense slips, allows Cardinals to score 21 points in first half
The Bills have found most of their success from their offense this year, but the defense leaves much to be desired. They currently rank 19th in points allowed, and could be trying to still unfortunately find their rhythm more than halfway through the season. In such spirits, the Cardinals' offense will be looking to attack early, making it difficult for the Bills' offense to ever have a chance to take the field given their barrage of scoring that'll occur in the first half.
The Cardinals have went into the half with a score of 17 in at least three of their last four games. The one game they didn't was against the Dallas Cowboys, which resulted in a 21-0 lead at the half in favor of the Cardinals. Them gaining an early lead on the Bills could be a significant deciding factor in the outcome of Week 10.
2. DeAndre Hopkins goes for 125-plus yards, three touchdowns
Hopkins has made quite the magic happen with Kyler Murray this year. The two have connected on 60 of 76 targets for 734 yards, resulting in three touchdowns. While Hopkins didn't turn in his best performance in Week 9 against the Dolphins with only three targets, that doesn't tell the entire story of his season. He's only turned in one performance this season in which his catching percentage was lower than 65 percent.
To make matters better for the 28-year old wideout, he's going against a Bills' defense that's ranked 15th in yards gained by passing, which allows the All-Pro receiver a bit more wiggle room to get his game going early and often. After only being targeted three times as well in Week 9, Murray will likely seek Hopkins out for at least 10-12 targets on Sunday.
As such, Hopkins will bring in 125-plus receiving yards while grabbing three touchdowns as well.
1. Kyler Murray goes off…again
Make no mistake, the Cardinals' disappointing loss to the Dolphins last week doesn't rest on him. He completed 21 of his 26 passes for 283 yards which resulted in three touchdowns.
If their defense could've been more productive, the Cardinals could've walked away with the victory, improving their winning streak to four in a row.
Even so, don't expect Murray's efforts to slow down against the Bills. He leads the team in both passing and rushing yards, which is an amazing feat in itself for a 23-year old.
His ability to scram and leave defenses in the dust was apparent last week, which probed Tagovailoa to give Murray his credit. He was able to muster up 106 rushing yards from 11 carries, resulting in one touchdown.
His passing will also reap massive benefits as well, as he'll be looking for Hopkins along with other formidable options downfield, which could make this a quick contest or a historic one down the line if the Bills can manage to keep up. Murray will end Week 10 throwing for over 275 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for one touchdown.
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