Saturday NFL Betting – Cardinals Will Give Saints A Run
The New Orleans Saints may have started the season with 13 straight wins, but as the saying goes, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. The Saints finished their regular season with three straight losses and headed into their bye week limping.
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Time: Sat., Jan. 16, 4:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans LA
Cardinals vs. Saints NFL Playoff Lines
MoneyLine: Cardinals +240 / Saints -290
Spread: Saints -7
Over/Under: 57
Had the Minnesota Vikings had any moxie, they probably would have had the No. 1 seed in the NFC overall and the Saints might be facing the Dallas Cowboys again, but I digress.
The Saints haven’t won at home since November 30th when they defeated the New England Patriots. That’s disconcerting. Considering the Arizona Cardinals showed us – for a second year in a row – that they know how to crank it up for playoff time, the Saints could be in trouble.
Cardinals offense versus Saints defense
The Cardinals were a very good road team this year and considering they scored 51 points against the No. 3 defense in the NFL, what are they going to do to the Saints defense this week?
Right now, it’s fairly tough to stop Kurt Warner and the Saints don’t have the pass rush to try. They put Charles Grant on injured reserve and they’ll miss him this week.
The Cardinals may not have Anquan Boldin in the lineup, or he might play and won’t be 100%, but does it really matter? Steve Breaston stepped up big-time last week and so did Early Doucet. The Cards have more depth than anyone want to give them credit for.
If Warner plays the same way, it’s tough to see the Cards losing.
Saints offense versus Cardinals defense
The Saints offense has also gone astray done the stretch of the season but the good news is they face a defense that gave up 45 points last week. One lingering concern is how effective Pierre Thomas will be because the Saints need to run the ball to have success. If they are back to their one-dimensional ways – as they were in previous years – they will be too predictable and will fall flat again.
The Packers exposed the Cardinals lack of depth in the secondary and the Saints have plenty of weapons to use. They’ll get their share of points but they need balance.
Outlook & Pick
The Saints haven’t played good football in a while and the Cardinals clearly know what it takes to ramp it up in the playoffs. Experience is a big factor and while the Saints have some, the Cards are confident because of last year’s run. Look for the Cardinals to stay within this spread and possibly win outright as well.
Pick: Cardinals +7
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Dave Golokhov has written for BETUS Sportsbook, Sportsfanmagazine.com, FOX, Askmen.com, Sports-central.org, and the FOXSports.com Funhouse.
One reply on “Divisional Round Playoff NFL Lines: Cardinals vs. Saints”
This game hinges on what a Saints team shows up. The one that went 13-0 or the one that stubbled to a 0-3 end to the season. New Orleans was banged up at the end of the season so the time off has helped get them healthy. I’m expecting to see the 13-0 Saints in this one.