Cardinals vs. Falcons Total Prediction
A pair of teams that could have selectins in the top-5 of the NFL draft next April will meet on Sunday when the Arizona Cardinals visit the Atlanta Falcons at 1:00 p.m. ET. With both offenses struggling, is the under a safe play for bettors?
Game Snapshot
323 Arizona Cardinals at 324 Atlanta Falcons
1:00 p.m. ET, Sunday, December 16
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Falcons are 10-point favorites to beat the Cardinals. The total, meanwhile, sits at 44 points. As of this writing, 59% of the public betting tickets are on the Falcons to cover the point spread.
Arizona Cardinals
Josh Rosen completed 26-of-41 passes for 240 yards with an interception while adding three yards on two carries Sunday in Arizona’s Week 14 loss to the Lions. Rosen was sacked three times for a loss of 22 yards. The rookie never came close to leading a touchdown drive against Detroit and looked noticeably lost without his go-to target Christian Kirk, who was lost to a season-ending foot injury last week. Rosen struggled throwing deep, registering a long completion of just 19 yards while showing little chemistry with downfield burner J.J. Nelson. His lone interception was returned by Darius Slay for a pick-six. The former UCLA Bruin gets a favorable draw against Atlanta next week, though given his recent struggles, fantasy owners in need of a streamer should probably be looking elsewhere.
Atlanta Falcons
Matt Ryan completed 28-of-42 passes for 262 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception in the Falcons’ Week 14 loss to the Packers. Ryan locked in on Julio Jones right from the start, and it worked out pretty well. He connected with Jones on three passes for 63 yards and a touchdown on the first drive alone, and the duo combined for 106 yards and two scores overall. It was mostly bad for Ryan from that point on. He cost Atlanta points on the second drive when the ball slipped out of his hands on a pump fake, resulting in a big loss, threw a pick-six in the second quarter when he threw late and behind Austin Hooper along the sideline, overthrew Jones on what should have been a long touchdown, and generally failed to move the offense for the first three quarters. He did hook up with Jones again at the end of a good drive in the fourth quarter and threw another touchdown with less than a minute left, but the game was over by then. In the midst of month-long struggle, Ryan will be just a back-end QB1 next week against the Cardinals.
NFL Betting Trends
Arizona
The under is 5-1 in the Cardinals’ last six games played in December and is 7-2 in their last nine conference games.
Atlanta
The under is 6-1-1 in the Falcons’ last eight games played in the month of December and is 4-1 in their last five games overall.
Prediction
The Falcons haven’t scored more than 20 points in their last five games but I have a hunch they’re going to take out a month-plus worth of frustrations on the Cardinals this Sunday. Atlanta hit rock bottom a week ago in Green Bay but this is still a proud team that is capable of scoring at will, especially at home. The over is 4-1 in the last five meetings between these two teams in Atlanta and is 10-3 in the last 13 meetings overall.
NFL Week 15 Prediction: Cardinals/Falcons over 44