The Arizona Cardinals (7-7) and Carolina Panthers (3-11) will face off in NFL Week 16. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. ET from Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The game will be broadcast live on FOX and can be streamed on YouTube TV.
The Cardinals are 5-point favorites over the Panthers on the spread, with the over/under set at 47 total points. The Cardinals are -238 favorites to win outright, while the Panthers are +195 to pull off the upset.
The Cardinals won 30-17 last week over the Patriots to snap a 3-game losing streak. Kyler Murray threw for 224 yards, but James Conner was the star with triple-digit rushing yards and two touchdowns. The Panthers lost 30-14 to the Cowboys for their fourth straight defeat as Bryce Young threw two interceptions.
Let's get to my Cardinals vs. Panthers predictions and NFL picks for this Sunday.
Cardinals vs. Panthers Prediction
Spread
My pick leads me to lean toward the Cardinals, but I'm not going to bet either side of this spread.
Player Props
When the Cardinals are playing well, so is James Conner. I'm on his rushing yards total for this matchup.
My Pick: James Conner Over 80.5 Rushing Yards
Cardinals vs. Panthers Odds, Spread, Over/Under
| Cardinals Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-5 -110 | 47 -110o / -110u | -238 |
| Panthers Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+5 -110 | 47 -110o / -110u | +195 |
- Cardinals vs. Panthers spread: Cardinals -5
- Cardinals vs. Panthers over/under: 47 total points
- Cardinals vs. Panthers moneyline: Cardinals -238, Panthers +195
- Cardinals vs. Panthers best bet: James Conner Over 80.5 Rushing Yards
MyCardinals vs. Panthers best bet is on James Conner's rushing yards. For all of your NFL bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NFL odds page.
Arizona Cardinals vs. Carolina Panthers Preview
The Panthers put together a stinker of a performance last week, one I saw coming. Despite the Cowboys’ recent struggles, the Panthers should not have been laying points to them.
Still, Carolina is improving. I’m not going to permanently doom Bryce Young for one bad game after an extended period of solid play. The problem is that Carolina’s run defense is still the worst in the NFL, and that will be exploited in this matchup.
I’m not sure where the Cardinals are right now.
Their playoff hopes are basically dead after the past few weeks thanks to two losses to the Seahawks. Arizona did deliver a strong bounce-back performance against the Patriots, and the star of the show was who I’m buying here.
James Conner has been a workhorse all season for the Cardinals — he had 16 carries for 110 yards (6.9 yards per carry) and two touchdowns last week, in addition to five receptions for 28 yards. When the Cardinals offense is humming, he’s probably the reason why.
The Cardinals defense is especially bad when defending runs up the middle, and that’s where Arizona is best in the ground game. Conner is a big, physical runner who punishes opposing front sevens.
Conner has some weird stats this season. He has four games of 33 or fewer rushing yards, but those are usually when the Cardinals suffer a bad loss. He’s run for 86 or more yards in seven of 14 games; he’s averaging 89 yards per game in the 10 games when he gets at least 16 carries.
This should be a game where Conner gets that kind of workload. I don’t expect the Cardinals to get blown out, so I’m expecting a big output from him. His rushing yards total opened at 80.5 on Thursday, and I’m pegging him for the high 80s.
My Pick: James Conner Over 80.5 Rushing Yards
Panthers vs Cardinals Betting Trends
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