Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals head East to Carolina where they’ll face Byrce Young and his Carolina Panthers in a matchup of former #1 overall NFL Draft picks. The game takes place at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina with kickoff set for 1:00 p.m. ET on FOX. Temperatures will be a cool 41 degrees at kickoff with little to no wind. Let’s dive in and take a look at this Cardinals-Panthers preview and predictions.
Arizona comes into this one with a record of 7-7 on the season. Even at third place in the NFC West, they sit just a game behind both the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West. They’ll need some help, but their playoff hopes are still alive. They snapped a three-game losing streak last week against the Patriots with a 30-17 win.
Carolina comes in at just 3-8 overall and despite losing their last four games in a row, they’ve gained a lot of hope, and potentially some clarity on their future. Bryce Young has looked like a new player in his post-benching games. Last week was a bit of a letdown against Dallas losing 14-30 to the Cowboys.
Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers Preview and Predictions Video
Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers Preview and Predictions
Trey McBride Anytime Touchdown (+130)
Sometimes you just have to buy into the hype. Trey McBride has 89 catches this season. That’s the most receptions recorded by an NFL player in history without a touchdown catch.
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray agrees with the rest of us:
Tight end Trey McBride not having a receiving touchdown 12 games in is a “weird stat.”
“That’s definitely gotta happen soon.” pic.twitter.com/0ufiBDRqGw
— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) December 4, 2024
Kyler vowed to get McBride into the end zone soon, and I believe him. With the extra attention brought to the fact that he hasn’t scored, the Cardinals and Murray will hyper-focus on getting McBride in the end zone and this is the week to bet on him.
Cardinals -4 (-120)
The Cardinals still have something to play for this week. They suffered that three-game losing streak, but easily took care of a sub-par Patriots team in Week 15. Now they get a sub-par Panthers team who’s had their bright spots lately. Arizona just can’t mess around with a team like this and needs to show up with their “A” game. Arizona is 9-5 ATS this season, while Carolina is just 6-8.
