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Vegas oddsmakers predicting easy win for Arizona Cardinals

By Jim Koch

LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 13: Dwayne Haskins #7 of the Washington Football Team drops back to pass in the scond quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at FedExField on September 13, 2020 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 13: Dwayne Haskins #7 of the Washington Football Team drops back to pass in the scond quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at FedExField on September 13, 2020 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) /
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The Las Vegas oddsmakers have installed the Arizona Cardinals as a seven-point favorite over the Washington football team

A week ago, the Arizona Cardinals traveled to the San Francisco Bay area to meet a heavily-favored 49ers squad. Last season’s NFC champions were laying seven points to a Cards club that won just five games in 2019. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury‘s crew fared well as underdogs, registering a 24-20 victory over an extremely talented group of 49ers.

This weekend, the roles are reversed for Arizona. Visiting State Farm Stadium is the Washington football team, fresh off of a 27-17 home triumph over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Cardinals have obviously impressed the Las Vegas oddsmakers, who have installed the Redbirds as a seven-point favorite over Washington. Will the Cards react as well giving points as they did receiving them?

Actually, this game may be much tougher than the bookmakers think. Washington, led by new head coach Ron Rivera, flashed a swarming defense against the Eagles last Sunday. Linebacker Ryan Kerrigan and company made life miserable for Philadelphia quarterback Carson Wentz, who suffered eight sacks in the season-opener.

Kerrigan, the NFC’s Defensive Player of the Week, got some help from his teammates. Chase Young, the second-overall selection of this past April’s draft, was mighty impressive in his NFL debut. Montez Sweat, Washington’s number-one pick from a year ago, also showed up in a big way versus the Eagles.

Washington’s offense, on the other hand, did not perform as well as their counterparts on the defensive side of the ball. Second-year signal-caller Dwayne Haskins and his teammates were the beneficiaries of some consistently favorable field position throughout the day. In fact, not one of Washington’s five scoring drives (three TDs, two FGS) went for more than 48 yards.

If the Arizona scoring attack can limit their turnovers (Philly committed three), Kingsbury’s bunch should come away with a fairly easy triumph over Washington. Big Red’s defense, thanks to some savvy offseason additions, appears to have improved considerably from last season. Kyler Murray and company will handle the rest, and the Cardinals will win going away by a final score of 27-13.

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