NFL Sunday Night Football gets off to a great start this season with a big interconference showdown between the New England Patriots and the Arizona Cardinals. Kick off from U of Phoenix Stadium is set for 8:30 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast nationally on NBC.
Even a casual football fan is aware of the main storyline in New England heading into a new season. After months of speculation as to how the Patriots will fare without Tom Brady at quarterback for the first four games will finally play itself out starting with the toughest test by far this Sunday night. New England went 3-1 straight-up in the preseason including a 19-17 win on the road against Carolina in Week 2 as a three-point road underdog, but the games start counting for reel from here on in.
Jimmy Garoppolo will be under center on Sunday night in what will be his first NFL start in the regular season. The confidence level with everyone surrounding the third-year vet appears to be sky high, but we really won’t know how he will hold up until the bullets start flying around for real. Not helping the cause are injuries to running back Dion Lewis and wide receiver Danny Amendola that will keep them out of action in Week 1.
Arizona went 13-3 straight-up last season and it went all the way to the NFC Championship before losing to Carolina, yet this team has to come into this season with a big chip on its shoulder as a second-favorite behind Seattle to repeat as NFC West champs. The Cardinals slept walked their way through the preseason at 1-3 both SU and against the spread with the total going OVER in thee of the four games. Last season their record ATS was a healthy 11-5 ATS.
It will pretty much be the same look as last year on offense with Carson Palmer throwing the ball to Larry Fitzgerald while Chris Johnson anchors the running game. The Cardinals ended the regular season ranked No. 1 in the league in total yards per game and they were second in scoring with an average of 30.6 points a game. Defensively, they ranked fifth in yards allowed and seventh in points allowed.
- The Patriots are 1-6 ATS in their last seven road games and they have gone just 3-6-1 ATS in their last 10 games overall. The total has gone OVER in 13 of their last 19 games in Week 1.
- The Cardinals are 5-0 ATS in their last five September games and they have covered ATS in five of their last six season openers. The total has stayed UNDER in their last four home games.
- The favorite in this matchup has covered in four of the last five meetings and the total has stayed UNDER in four of those games.
