The New England Patriots visit the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1 action on Sunday, September 11th on NBC. The Patriots will be without starting quarterback Tom Brady who is suspended for the first four games of the season so it will be Jimmy Garappolo getting the start. On the other side, the Cardinals are considered one of the favorites to win the NFC with a potent offense led by Carson Palmer, Larry Fitzgerald and David Johnson.
Week 1 NFL Odds
Arizona Cardinals -5.5, total 47.5
The Patriots may have to rely on their defense early in the season as the offense will not have Brady at the helm. New England will also be without to running back Dion Lewis and they have also had a number of injuries in the preseason. New England did add Chris Hogan and Martellus Bennett in the off-season so look for both players to make an impact right away.
The Cardinals have virtually the same team they had a year ago although they do look to be improved on defense with the addition of Chandler Jones and with a healthy Tyrann Mathieu.
Which Offense Will Shine?
The Patriots are almost always one of the highest scoring teams in the league but there are definitely some concerns starting the betting season without Brady under center. Garappolo has a big arm but he has yet to show he can produce on a regular basis. New England still has weapons on offense including tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receiver Julian Edelman but they will miss both Brady and Lewis early in the season.
The Cardinals have a potent offense as well led by Palmer and Fitzgerald but both players are now on the downside of their careers. Arizona will need David Johnson to have another big season and they will need Michael Floyd to step up and take on a larger role in the passing game especially if John Brown remains out due to a concussion.
High Expectations in Arizona
The Cardinals are considered Super Bowl contenders in 2016 and that is just fine with head coach Bruce Arians. “We have a window to win a Super Bowl, and this is one of the years to do it,” Arians said. “It’s not a one-year window. You want those expectations; you don’t want to be on a team that hopes you’re 3-13 and getting better every day. I’ve been on those, too, and that’s not much fun.”
The expectations from the top sportsbooks online may have gone down slightly for Arizona in the preseason as the Cardinals played very poorly in the first three games going 0-3 but Fitzgerald was not worried saying, “It’s really, it’s the preseason. I remember the Detroit Lions years ago when they went 0-16, they were 4-0 in the preseason.”
Week 1 NFL Picks
Both teams may struggle a bit on offense early in this game and that could be enough to slow things down so I will go under the total.
