Week 8 of the NFL 2021 season begins with the Thursday Night Football, which this week promises to be a barnstormer of a contest as two of the best teams in the NFC meet when the Arizona Cardinals host the Green Bay Packers in what might be a rehearsal of the NFC Championship game later in the season.
The Cardinals go into this huge contest undefeated for the season but since getting thrashed in their opening game of the campaign, the Packers have gone on a six match winning streak so two confident winning machines collide in primetime here.
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals right now look the team to beat in the entire NFL let alone in the NFC having raced out to a 7-0 start to the season with both sides of the ball working extremely efficiently. In Kyler Murray they have arguably the leading contender for the MVP award this term. He has led his offense through this seven match winning streak and the recent addition of Zach Ertz from the Philadelphia Eagles is only going to make what was already a strong and potent offense even more powerful.
Arizona have improved greatly on defence this term too, although their strength in that department might come into question from now on with the news that JJ Watt has to undergo shoulder surgery which could keep him out for the remainder of the season. One of the strengths of the Cardinals this term has been their ability to press and rush the passer. The Watt injury will shift the emphasis onto Chandler Jones but he hasn’t had a sack since the opening game of the year.
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Green Bay Packers
With every passing week, the Packers’ mauling at the hands of the New Orleans Saints in Week 1 is looking more and more mysterious. You wouldn’t say they have been flawless in their six wins since then but they have appeared to be getting stronger all the time until last week where they were second best for large periods against the Washington Football Team. Like all good teams though they made plays at the right time and got the job done in the end.
A lot is made of the Green Bay offense, and with the current regular season MVP Aaron Rodgers at quarterback rightly so, but he is likely to be without leading wide receiver Davante Adams for this match with the wideout having tested positive for Covid-19. The Packers defence has often gone unheralded but it has been playing some good football this season however defensive co-ordinator Joe Barry will not be around for this game as he has also tested positive for Covid-19 and against an Arizona offense in this form that might be significant.
Betting
Given that this is the first game the Arizona Cardinals will have without a key cog in JJ Watt and we don’t know for sure the status of Davante Adams I’m a little reluctant to get involved in the match outcome. Regular readers will know I’m not the biggest fan of it in the Thursday night game anyway but those two issues cloud the water a little more. That makes me head to the player markets for a punt on the game with my focus on the Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray.
Murray has impressed everyone with his play in the passing game this year but it is with his legs where I think he can impact the game here. There has been a clear emphasis for Murray not to run as much this season, as much to protect him than anything else, but Green Bay are having big issues stopping the quarterback from running at the minute. Taylor Heinicke rushed for 95 yards from just 10 carries against them last week while Justin Fields and Jared Goff both averaged over seven yards per carry against this Packers defence. Murray has a rushing yards line of 27.5 yards for this match and based on the last couple of weeks that is perfectly attainable target for a much more mobile quarterback than the Packers have faced so far.
Tips
Back K.Murray – Over 27.5 rushing yards for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Bet365
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