In Week 13, the Arizona Cardinals are listed as significant favorites over the Bears in the betting apps.
Following their bye week, the Arizona Cardinals come back with the best record in the NFL and an opportunity to clinch their 10th win of the season on Sunday.
The Cardinals, boasting a 9-2 record, are heading to Soldier Field in Chicago to face the Bears. Arizona sports betting apps are forecasting the team from the Valley to be heavily favored in this matchup.
The Cardinals and Bears will kick off their game at 11 a.m. Arizona time this Sunday on FOX.
Cardinals are heavily favored to win on Sunday.
As of Tuesday morning, BetMGM Arizona and FanDuel Sportsbook Arizona have the Cardinals favored by 7.5 points over the Bears.
DraftKings Sportsbook Arizona has set the spread for Arizona at -8, making them the third operator to offer this line.
For those looking to make a moneyline bet, BetMGM Arizona lists the Cardinals at -350, FanDuel Sportsbook Arizona has them at -360, and DraftKings Sportsbook Arizona offers them at -380. Chicago is listed at +280 with DraftKings and +290 with the other two sportsbooks.
BetMGM Arizona and FanDuel Sportsbook Arizona both have the over/under set at 45.5 points (-110), whereas DraftKings Sportsbook Arizona has it at 44.5 points (-110).
Cardinals anticipate Kyler Murray’s comeback to the team.
The health of Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray has been a major factor in NFL betting in Arizona over the last four weeks.
The Heisman Trophy winner, who had previously injured his ankle against the Green Bay Packers on Oct. 28, has missed Arizona’s last three games as he continues to recover from the injury.
During that period, the Cardinals have won two games, beating the San Francisco 49ers 31-17 and the Seattle Seahawks 23-13, but they suffered a 34-10 loss to Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers.
According to Arizona coach Kliff Kingsbury, Murray leads the Cardinals in passing yards with 2,276 and passing touchdowns with 17. Kingsbury is hopeful that Murray will be ready to play on Sunday.
Colt McCoy has been a standout this season, stepping in as Murray’s backup and delivering an impressive performance with 328 passing yards and two touchdowns in the team’s 10-point win over the Seahawks in Week 11.
This season, McCoy has completed 75.6% of his passes, accumulating 684 yards and scoring three touchdowns.
Sunday will require close attention to how much responsibility Kingsbury delegates to Murray, or if the Cardinals opt to prioritize running the ball against the vulnerable Bears front seven.
If they opt for the second choice, former Steelers running back James Conner could be in line for a strong performance, as he gained 62 yards and scored a touchdown against Seattle prior to the bye week.
Conner has rushed for 555 yards and scored 12 touchdowns this season, leading the Cardinals in both categories. He is anticipated to play a crucial role in Arizona’s game plan against Chicago.
Cardinals aim to boost their record against the spread.
Arizona will look to cover the spread for the ninth time in 12 games when they play against Chicago.
The team did not meet the spread in their matches against Minnesota in Week 2 (-4), Green Bay in Week 8 (-6.5), and Carolina in Week 10 (-7).
In two of the games, Arizona suffered defeats of 24-21 against the Packers and 34-10 against the Panthers.
Arizona beat Seattle 23-13 as a 4.5-point favorite two weeks ago. Their biggest spread win this season was against Houston in Week 7, with a -20 spread resulting in a 31-5 victory for the Cardinals.
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Author
Peterson Christopher, with over seven years of experience covering sports and sports betting in Arizona, has recently been appointed as the lead writer at yengols.com. He has held previous positions at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly, and the Green Valley News.
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