The non-conference NFL betting angle aside, Greg builds a solid case with this week’s prediction from the Arizona Cardinals at Tennessee Titans
Greg Dempson’s NFL picks are 4-2 this season at Pick Sixty and from the late card he has free play “live” today out of the Music City. The line on this game opened at Cardinals -2.5 with a total of 41.5 and we issued an early preview for this game as our Tip of the Week at our new Facebook betting page (ARI at TEN, Cards TT OV 22). Gameday betting has pushed this total up to 42.5 at sports betting sites (Greek has 42 -122) and Greg still likes the over.
CARDINALS at TITANS – WEEK 15
Has Carson Palmer’s career been resurrected since that move from Cincinnati to Oakland, and now Arizona? Well, Palmer has completed a league-high 70.4% of his passes for an average of 326 yards per game with eight touchdowns and two interceptions in the past four weeks. Only New England’s Tom Brady has put up more yards per game (357.3) in that stretch. Larry Fitzgerald has been “lights out” during Palmer’s superb stretch, with 28 catches for 281 yards and five touchdowns. Last week, Larry finished with 96 receiving yards while his 12 receptions were his most since matching a career high 13 against Seattle on Oct. 18, 2009. Fitzgerald has 10 touchdown catches this season.
[quote_text color=”#000000″ text_color=”#ffffff”]The Titans have given up an average of 24.3 points per game at home this season – 9th most in the league[/quote_text]
This week Palmer and Fitzgerald face a Tennessee team that has allowed an average of 29.0 points during its four-game home losing streak. I do not believe that Chris Johnson will be able to run the ball vs. the Cardinals. In his last game, Johnson’s struggles continued with 46 rushing yards on 12 carries. He’s averaging a career-low 3.8 yards per carry and the Cards have the league’s third-best run defense at 84.5 yards allowed per game.
If you cannot run the ball your other option is the passing game. Games that stretch out due to the clock stopping allow for higher scores. The Titans also take a lot of penalties and Arizona should be able to take advantage. We’ve seen 75-percent of the non-Conference games this year go over and I feel this game will add to that tally.
Pick: Take the Cards at Titans OVER