We begin another week of action in the NFL 2022 season on Thursday evening when two NFC sides face off in the Thursday Night Football as the Arizona Cardinals welcome the New Orleans Saints to the desert.
Both these teams head into the week with 2-4 records for their campaign and with at least two teams above them in their respective divisions they will each know that there is little room for defeat in this primetime encounter.
Arizona Cardinals
There would have been high hopes for the season for the Arizona Cardinals even allowing for the fact that they were supposedly in the toughest division in football. The Super Bowl is at their home ground this year and we have seen with the last two champions the motivation that gives a team and it was expected it would do the same for the Cardinals. While it has to be said that injuries haven’t helped the cause, they haven’t really got going this season.
The big surprise is that it is their offense which is stumbling. They have one of the most mobile quarterbacks in the league and a decent enough running back plus a couple of solid receivers. They have won both the matches they have put up more than 21 points in but the four games they haven’t surpassed that total they have lost, including their last two. Defensively they haven’t conceded more than 20 points in their last four matches so if their offense can come good it would be beneficial. They have a couple of new receiving weapons for the season to use here.
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New Orleans Saints
I think going into the season plenty of people had reservations over the New Orleans Saints. Clearly they are in a division with a current powerhouse of the league but the big question was whether Jameis Winston could lead a side to the playoffs and a potential Super Bowl run as a starting quarterback at this level. The answer is clearly negative and although injuries haven’t helped the Saints, you do wonder where they are going as a team.
The surprise for the Saints has been that their defence, which was excellent last season, has been very poor this term. They have hardly created any takeaways which in turn has kept Winston and whoever has been at quarterback on the field and it has all snowballed from there. Despite their issues at quarterback, New Orleans aren’t having any problems putting points on the board having scored 25 or more in their last three matches. Stopping them at the other end is a whole different ball game.
Betting
I fancy the Arizona Cardinals to win this match with some more toys for Kyler Murray to play with but I can’t bring myself to trust them to get the job done. One reason for that is you would imagine that Marshawn Lattimore will take DeAndre Hopkins on his return while Robby Anderson might need more than a few days to familiarise himself with the play book. That might open the door for Zach Ertz to have a big night though.
Ertz is third in receptions in the NFL this season among tight ends and with Hopkins coming back this week, Anderson potentially likely to improve as the weeks go on, Marquise Brown out injured and James Conner also potentially missing the game the former Eagles tight end could see even more than the 10 targets he received last week. He has a receiving yards line of just 44.5 for this match which Ertz has covered in his last five matches. I expect him to make that six here.
Tips
Back Z.Ertz – Over 44.5 receiving yards for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Bet365
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