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Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers NFL Pick & Betting Odds

Written by Jimmy Boyd on October 24, 2008

With a win Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, the Arizona Cardinals would get off to their best start in 32 years. The odds makers don’t see it happening, however, listing the Panthers as 4-point home favorites with the total set at 43.

The Arizona franchise has been a longtime member of the NFL (since 1920), but its recent history has not been associated with winning.

The Cardinals won their only title while playing out of Chicago in 1947 and have not made a trip to the playoffs since 1998. That trip marked their first since 1982.

The Cardinals are on the right track to end that ten-year postseason drought as they own a two-game advantage in the weak NFC West division.

The Cardinals blew out previously unbeaten Buffalo on October 5th and then defeated the Dallas Cowboys 30-24 on October 12. Both of those wins came at home and Arizona knows it is going to have to do a much better job on the road from here on out. Since winning at San Francisco in its season opener, it has been outscored 80-52 in losing its last two road games.

While the Cards are off to a 4-2 start, they know they are a long ways from getting out of the woods. Arizona also opened 4-2 in 2002 but went on to finish just 5-11.

The Cardinals do enjoy the luxury of having a bye week to give them extra rest and preparation time for this week’s big game. The rest could have standout wide receiver Anquan Boldin back in the lineup. Boldin was off to a fast start with 27 grab for 366 yards and five scores before missing a pair of games with a sinus fracture. If you think Arizona can get it done on the road, bet the Cardinals at +4 at BetUS.

Carolina will have some history on its side this week as the Panthers have won four straight against Arizona. The Panthers won 25-10 last October as quarterback Vinny Testaverde replaced an injured Jake Delhomme and Tim Rattay led Arizona for the injured Kurt Warner. Delhomme and Warner are both having solid seasons and will both be in the lineup this week.

It’s not going to be easy for Arizona to win at Carolina with the way the Panthers have been playing at home. The Panthers are 4-0 at home this season, outscoring their opponents 108-33 in those games, but Carolina has not won five straight at home since 2005.

The Panthers will try to ride one of their best wins of the season to another victory this week. They bounced back from a terrible 27-3 defeat at Tampa Bay to crush the Saints 30-7 last Sunday.

The Panthers haven’t made the postseason since 2005 and are off to their best start since opening that season 7-2.

Much like the Titans in the AFC, the Panthers have been getting the job done on the defensive side of the football. The defense is third in the league in scoring, allowing only 14.9 points per game and also third in total defense, giving up just 286.3 yards per contest. They seemed to have made a statement last week by holding the high-powered Saints to a season low scoring output.

They’ll have to do it against this week against another strong offensive team which leads the NFL in scoring and is sixth in total offense. They made Drew Brees look mediocre last week but they’ll face just as tall of a task against Kurt Warner, who is third in passing yards and fifth in touchdowns. If you like Carolina to remain unbeaten at home and cover the number in the process, bet the Panthers at -4 at BetUS and receive up to a 50% signup bonus.

Editor’s Note: Jimmy Boyd’s 5* NFL Underdog of the Year is featured in Sunday’s Week 8 NFL picks package. Get your NFL betting done now with Jimmy Boyd’s top rated picks and rest easy knowing that you’re playing the most heavily researched picks in the industry. It won’t take you long before you discover that Jimmy Boyd’s ability to beat the NFL lines is unmatched.

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