Two teams with playoff aspirations will clash in their season opener, as the Arizona Cardinals will travel to Music City to take on the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. Arizona finished 8-8 last season, good for third place in the NFC West. If Kyler Murray wouldn’t have missed some games late in the season due to injury, the Cardinals very well could have been a playoff team. The Titans went 11-5 and won the AFC South for the first time since 2008. Check out our NFL Betting analysis for the upcoming matchup between Arizona and Tennessee.
NFL Betting Preview for Arizona Cardinals at Tennessee
Arizona Cardinals Preview
When Kliff Kingsbury was hired as the Arizona head coach, his main objective was to install his high-powered offense. The Cardinals will be led by dual-threat quarterback Kyler Murray. Murray will have one of the best receivers in the game in Deandre Hopkins to throw the ball to. Hopkins will be joined by free agent signee AJ Green, Christian Kirk, and a stable full of capable receivers. Chase Edmunds and James Conner will man the backfield for Arizona.
The defense has been an issue for the Cardinals over the past few years. The Cardinals feel like they have the defense where they want it this season. Led by Budda Baker, Chandler Jones, and the newly acquired JJ Watt, defensive coordinator Vance Joseph feels like this group can be successful. Arizona has spent their last two first-round picks on Isaiah Simmons and Zavon Collins to shore up their linebacking crew. They have a good, young secondary group as well.
This could be a make or break year for Kingsbury, so he’s hoping that this is the year that everything comes together for the Cardinals.
Tennessee Titans Preview
Just when you thought that the Titans’ offense couldn’t get scarier, they went out and traded for Julio Jones this offseason. Combine Jones with monster running back Derrick Henry, talented wide receiver AJ Brown, and quarterback Ryan Tannehill, and you have a very lethal combination.
Tennessee’s defense will be an issue this season. Defensively, it’s been a struggle for the Titans over the past few seasons. They’ve tried to upgrade through free agency and the draft, but many of their moves just haven’t worked. The Titans’ offense is going to need to score a lot of points to make up for the shortcomings of their defense.
Tennessee ended last season with a sour taste in their mouth as they lost a heartbreaker to the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the playoffs. We’ll see if they can repeat their regular season from last year and then have some success in the playoffs.
Prediction
The oddsmakers have made the Tennessee Titans a three-point favorite in this one. The over/under is 52. With both teams having very potent offenses, and questionable defenses, we like the over in this one. Both teams will be able to put up points, and this one will turn into a shootout. We like the Titans in this game, but we don’t see them covering the spread. They’ll win a tight one against the Cardinals and open their season 1-0.
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