The Green Bay Packers will take on the Arizona Cardinals to begin Week 8 of the NFL season. It's time to continue our NFL odds series and make a Packers-Cardinals prediction and pick.
This game should easily be the best Thursday night matchup of the season so far. The Packers are a perennial contender with quarterback Aaron Rodgers at the helm, and they currently lead the NFC North with a stellar 6-1 record on the year. The one knock on Green Bay is that they haven't faced very stiff competition this year, but that certainly isn't the case in this one. Arizona is the lone undefeated team left standing in the NFL. They've been completely dominant in every single one of their games, notching double-digit wins against three teams that will likely be making the playoffs at the end of the year. The Cardinals have a chance to continue that dominance here against a Packers team that is virtually a lock to win their division.
Here's how the bookmakers have set the Packers-Cardinals odds for Thursday night's game.
NFL Odds: Packers-Cardinals Odds
Green Bay Packers +6 (-110)
Arizona Cardinals -6 (-110)
Over 51 points (-114)
Under 51 points (-106)
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Why The Packers Can Cover The Spread
Despite their solid play, the Green Bay defense continues to be overlooked by the media. This unit has only allowed 24 points over their last two contests and only really has one poor performance on the season. A huge part of defensive coordinator Joe Barry's success is his unit's ability to get pressure. The Packers have put together ten sacks over their last three games to go along with a plethora of quarterback hits. Arizona doesn't allow many sacks, but a big reason for that is quarterback Kyler Murray's mobility. The Cardinals' offensive line gives up a decent amount of pressure, making this a matchup that Green Bay's defense should exploit.
Aaron Rodgers continues to prove that having an elite quarterback is often enough to change the script of the season for a team. Rodgers doesn't have much help around him, but that hasn't prevented him from playing great football. Over the last three contests, Rodgers has posted a whopping 813 yards to go along with seven touchdowns. Arizona is yet to face a top-five signal-caller, so a red-hot Rodgers will be an interesting matchup for a defense that has mainly picked on poor offenses this season.
Why The Cardinals Can Cover The Spread
While it's true that the Packers have been good on defense recently, they haven't matched up with a team quite like Arizona. The Cardinals have surpassed 30 points in every single game but one this season, including in matchups against the Los Angeles Rams and the Cleveland Browns. Both of those teams have better defensive units than Green Bay by a wide margin, and quarterback Kyler Murray had no trouble leading his offense to an elite showing against them.
Aaron Rodgers has been on an absolute tear in recent weeks, but he'll be missing his most important weapon in this one. Wide receiver Davante Adams has been placed on the COVID reserve list ahead of this matchup. Adams accounts for a huge amount of the targets and yardage that Rodgers produces, as he is obviously the best pass-catcher on the team. His absence leaves Rodgers with a starting wide receiver group of Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, and Equanimeous St. Brown. That is easily one of the worst receiving rooms in the NFL, so the Cardinals should have a pretty easy time defending the pass in this one.
Final Packers-Cardinals Prediction & Pick
It's hard to see the Packers covering here. They're facing the biggest test of their season so far on a short week without their second best overall player. Arizona has been dismantling good teams all season and that shouldn't change here.
FINAL PACKERS-CARDINALS PICK: Arizona Cardinals -6 (-110)
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