Last year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers began their season with a double-digit loss against the New Orleans Saints. They went on to win the Super Bowl. Early on in 2021, the Green Bay Packers are following the same trajectory. After losing 38-3 to New Orleans in Week 1, they’re 6-0 since. They’d be in first place in the NFC if not for the Arizona Cardinals. Here’s what you can expect for the epic Packers vs. Cardinals clash, including NFL odds, channel options, and a score prediction.
Green Bay Packers vs. Arizona Cardinals prediction and odds | Week 8
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- Spread: Cardinals -3.5
- Moneyline: Cardinals -190, Packers +160
- Over/Under: 54
Odds from DraftKings sportsbook
The Cardinals are the only undefeated team left in the NFL — but this might be the NFL’s best chance to unseat them. On Thursday Night Football, the Cardinals take on the Packers, a team equally as threatening with Aaron Rodgers under center.
By their raw records alone, Green Bay and Arizona are fairly evenly matched. And the records against the spread tell a similar story. The Cardinals are 6-1 against the spread, with their lone loss coming against Minnesota, who lost to Arizona by just a point. The Packers, meanwhile, are 5-1-1. They met the spread in a 3-point victory over the Bengals, and then obviously fell below it in Week 1 against the Saints.
The projected point total for this game is 54 — a sensible number for two teams that have been firing on all cylinders offensively. Since their Week 1 debacle, the Packers have scored at least 24 points in every game. And the Cardinals, aside from a 17-point outing against San Francisco earlier this month, have scored at least 30 in every game.
Packers vs. Cardinals prediction
As always, injuries are going to play a hand in our Packers vs. Cardinals prediction. However, health questions have constituted a fairly minor portion of both the Packers’ and Cardinals’ seasons to this point — knock on wood.
The Packers were only missing four players — Preston Smith, Kevin King, Josh Myers, and Dennis Kelly — in their Week 7 win. Meanwhile, Arizona was missing stalwart center Rodney Hudson and star edge rusher Chandler Jones, but they managed to get by without them against the Texans.
Hudson is likely out until Week 9, but it looks like most of the Packers’ and Cardinals’ missing contributors will have a chance to return. However, the short week may truncate recovery times and force players to take another week off. Even so, there’s enough healthy talent to compare head-to-head.
Cardinals have a game-breaker in quarterback Kyler Murray
Both rosters are in the upper echelon of the NFL, but the Arizona Cardinals have one legitimate game-breaker in Kyler Murray. Murray is a bona fide MVP candidate this year. In seven games, he has over 2,000 yards passing, 20 total touchdowns, and just 5 interceptions.
Murray’s numbers are impressive, but his play is even more so. He can bail out the offensive line with his inhuman quickness and escapability, and he also has a plethora of weapons to choose from. This past week against Houston, DeAndre Hopkins, Zach Ertz, and Christian Kirk all scored touchdowns, and A.J. Green contributed as well.
With Murray and Kliff Kingsbury at the helm, Arizona’s offense has been tough to stop this year. On defense, the Cardinals have been slightly more efficient as well. They’ve been generating pressure at a higher rate than Green Bay, and they’ve also made more plays on the ball. It helps that teams are always forced to play catch-up against Arizona, but their defense is loaded with talent, and they pose a threat at every level.
While Arizona’s roster seems a bit better overall, the wild card in all of this is Rodgers. Since the season opener, he’s thrown 15 touchdowns to 1 interception in six games. He’s just as dangerous as Murray, albeit in different ways. If the Packers can win in the trenches and keep Rodgers clean, he can exchange haymakers with Arizona’s QB.
Packers vs. Cardinals game prediction
I like the Cardinals to win in this one, but I think the Packers can keep it close, and potentially even cover the spread. The 3.5-point spread is tricky, as the Cardinals lose ATS if they beat Green Bay by a field goal.
While I think that’s well within the realm of possibility, Joe Barry’s defense has been a bit inconsistent this year, even with its expanse of talent. Cornerback Eric Stokes has been a pleasant surprise early on, but the Packers’ secondary as a whole might have a tough time dealing with Arizona’s sheer allotment of weapons — especially if Murray can perform his usual wizardry off-script.
I think the Cardinals and Packers, driven by two elite quarterbacks, will get swept into a shoot-out and drive the point total past the over/under. While it will remain close throughout, the Cardinals will cover the spread off a bit of chance.
Prediction: Cardinals 37, Packers 31
How to watch and listen to Packers vs. Cardinals this week
- Start time: Thursday, 8:20 PM ET
- Channel: FOX
- Live stream:
- Sling
- Hulu + Live TV
- fuboTV
- YouTube TV
- DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket
- NFL Mobile App
- Listen: Sirius XM Radio