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The Arizona Cardinals have gotten off to a very slow start this season, and they hit a new low in Week 6 when they failed to score a touchdown in a 19-9 loss against the Seattle Seahawks. The Cardinals will be looking to bounce back in Week 7 against a vulnerable New Orleans Saints squad. With the game nearing, we decided to roll out our Cardinals Week 7 predictions.
The Cardinals offense, which has struggled so mightily to open the season, will finally see star receiver DeAndre Hopkins return to the field after missing the first six games of the season due to a suspension for a failed drug test. Arizona's offense is still beat up, though, as they lost Justin Pugh for the rest of the season in Week 6, and could find themselves without Marquise Brown for the rest of the year as well.
The Cardinals offense should benefit from getting Hopkins back, and they also swung a trade for disgruntled Carolina Panthers wide receiver Robbie Anderson earlier this week too. That's good news, because if the offense can get on track, the defense is playing well enough to lead Arizona to a nice string of victories. Let's take a look at our bold predictions, and see what could be expected in the Cardinals upcoming game.
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3. Cardinals FS Budda Baker will finish with 15 tackles
Budda Baker is in the process of putting together another strong season leading the Cardinals secondary, as he's leading his team in tackles with 45 through the first six games of the season. Baker will be in store for another big game in Week 7 against a Saints offense that is very beat up.
New Orleans basically ran out their second team offense with all the injuries they are dealing with, but one star who still played was Alvin Kamara. If the Saints wide receiver corps is limited again, Baker will likely play closer to the line of scrimmage and focus on slowing down Kamara for much of the day, and he could end up having a fruitful day when it comes to the tackling department.
Baker will spend a lot of time keeping an eye on Kamara when he finds himself inside the box in this one, and he will end up recording a game high 15 tackles when all is said and done. The Cardinals defense will be intent on slowing down Kamara throughout this one, and Baker's strong outing ensures he won't have many holes to exploit on the ground.
2. Cardinals WR DeAndre Hopkins will haul in two touchdowns in his return
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As previously mentioned, Hopkins will be returning after missing the first six games of the season, giving Kyler Murray his top option in the passing game back. Hopkins wasn't at his best when he played last season, as he was dealing with a couple different injuries, but he managed to score eight touchdowns in just ten games, which should help Arizona find their way into the end zone after their early season offensive struggles.
Hopkins could have a very favorable matchup against the Saints depending on who ends up playing in their secondary. Marshon Lattimore didn't suit up for the Saints last week, and he's questionable to play tomorrow night, as is Paulson Adebo alongside him. If either guy misses this game, particularly Lattimore, Hopkins is going to see a lot of targets come his way throughout this game.
Even if they play, Murray will likely look Hopkins way quite frequently considering Brown is out and Anderson will have had less than a full week to learn the offense. Hopkins will turn his target volume into a two touchdown performance in his first game of the season, helping the Cardinals offense do enough to get by a beat up Saints squad in this game.
1. The Cardinals will beat the Saints 33-20
The Cardinals have lost some games they probably shouldn't have lost early on in the season, with last weekend's game against the Seahawks being a prime example. But they won't lose this one to New Orleans, who has somehow managed to stay competitive despite their various injuries.
The offense will get off to a quick start, with Murray finding Hopkins from 15 yards out on the first drive of the game to start the scoring. The defense will only allow a touchdown on a direct snap run to Taysom Hill in the first half, with Murray taking one to the end zone on a run himself, and a field goal being added to the Cardinals score to give them a 17-7 lead heading into halftime.
The Saints will get field goal on their first drive of the second half, but that's as close as they will come to catching Arizona, as Hopkins will catch his second touchdown of the day on the ensuing drive. The Cardinals will control the game from there on out, and coast to a 33-20 victory to get themselves back on track after a rough couple of games.
