The big question heading into this Week 8 matchup is: Will he or won’t he? That is what Arizona Cardinals fans are wondering about quarterback Kyler Murray, who has yet to play this season but was a full participant during the week. Let’s take a look at this matchup between Arizona and the Baltimore Ravens.
Ravens vs. Cardinals Betting Lines, Start Time, and More
All odds from DraftKings Sportsbook.
- Spread: Ravens -9.5
- Moneyline: Ravens (-485), Cardinals (+370)
- Over/Under: 44.5
- Game time: 4:25 p.m. ET
- Location: State Farm Stadium
- Channel: CBS
Ravens vs. Cardinals Prediction
Coming off perhaps its best all-around game of the season last week vs. the Lions, the Ravens look ready to pounce on an overmatched opponent.
But if the season debut of their star quarterback is delayed one more week, do the Cardinals have enough firepower on offense to keep this game close?
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First things first, the Ravens are playing excellent ball these days. They are coming off a convincing win over the Lions last week, a game in which the Ravens had season-highs in scoring (38 points) and total yards (504). Leading the attack was Lamar Jackson.
Jackson threw for 357 yards, tossing three touchdown passes (without an interception) and rushing for another score. His near-perfect passer rating of 155.8 was his highest in a game since 2019 and tied for the second-highest by any quarterback this season.
Jackson is off to another impressive start to his season, completing at least 70% of his passes in six of the Ravens’ seven games. His overall passer rating of 101.9 is third-highest in the NFL.
The combination of Jackson’s excellence and Baltimore’s dominating defense makes the Ravens one tough team. The Ravens are holding opponents to a league-low 13.9 points per game this season while ranking behind rival Cleveland for the fewest yards allowed (271.7 YPG).
So, how do the Cardinals deal with all this?
Arizona needs a pick-me-up offensively. The Cardinals rank in the bottom 10 in scoring, averaging just 18.1 PPG (24th), and in their last two games, both on the road, they’ve scored nine and 10 points, respectively.
The return of Murray probably can’t come soon enough for Arizona fans because the Josh Dobbs project appears to be nearing an end. After an excellent start to the season — 99.4 passer rating, zero interceptions in first four weeks — Dobbs has struggled lately. Over his last three games, he has three interceptions and a 61.3 passer rating.
It’s not fair to put all of the Cardinals’ offensive struggles on Dobbs. Leading rusher James Conner has missed the last two games after going on the injured reserve with a knee injury. He will miss the next two games, including Sunday’s tilt with the Ravens.
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As for need-to-know numbers, the Cardinals have fared well in this spot, going 3-1 against the spread vs. non-divisional opponents (10-5 ATS over the last two seasons vs. non-NFC West opponents).
Baltimore is 2-1 against the spread on the road and 9-4 ATS on the road over the last two seasons.
The Ravens appear to be hitting their stride, while the Cardinals are hoping for any positive signs for the rest of the season. Murray’s return could be one of those positive signs.
It is hard to fathom the Cardinals pulling this game out, even if Murray returns. But the facts are the Cardinals’ offense has looked much better playing at home than on the road.
The feeling here is that, beat up as they may be, the Cardinals will figure out a way to put at least 21 points on the scoreboard. And that should be enough to cover this massive number.
Take the points for this week.
Best Bet: Cardinals +9.5 (-110 at DraftKings Sportsbook)
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