MVP Candidate
The best weapon to beat Arizona this week will be Taylor, who continues to emerge as an MVP candidate. This week, Taylor is going up against a vulnerable Cardinals run defense that has allowed 4.6 yards per carry, which ranks 27th in the NFL. Indianapolis has rushed for 2,198 yards a team after 14 games, which leads the NFL. Thus, it’s not rocket science that the running game needs to be the priority this week against Arizona.
Success in the running game opens the play-action pass for Wentz to spread the football around to T.Y. Hilton, Michael Pittman Jr., and the rest of the wide receivers. Wentz does need to be more accurate this week and complete around 65 percent of his passes to give the Colts the best chance to win on Saturday. Moving forward, Indianapolis will need Wentz to complete more than five passes to make a deep run in the playoffs, as Head Coach Frank Reich discussed earlier this week.
Cardinals struggle offensively
Kyler Murray has not been great over the past four games, and the loss of DeAndre Hopkins exacerbated his issues last Sunday. Murray completed 23 of 41 passes for 257 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Murray’s accuracy was off, and he also never got comfortable as Detroit did a great job of getting heat on him.
Christian Kirk, Zach Ertz, and A.J. Green combined for a solid for 19 receptions, 232 yards, and a touchdown. However, there was just something missing all day long as the offensive line lost the battle of the line of scrimmage against a physical Detroit defense. Looking ahead to Saturday, it will be crucial for head coach Kliff Kingsbury and the offensive staff to recommit to the run game to set up the pass because this team is at its best when it can do both at a high level.
Cardinals defense
The Arizona defense has also struggled lately. They have surrendered 30 points in consecutive games and weren’t able to make any big plays against Goff and the Lions. Overall the numbers are good, standing 5th against the pass and 18th against the run. The Cardinals are scoring an average of 27 points, tabbing them ninth overall. They are limiting foes to only 20.3 points, placing them fifth in the NFL.
Betting statistics
This is the type of situation in which Arizona has struggled in recent years, going 10-13-1 straight-up and 6-18 against the spread when favored by fewer than 7 points since the start of the 2016 season. The Cardinals are 5-9 straight-up and 2-12 against the spread as a single-digit home favorite since the start of 2018. Arizona is 2-8 straight-up and 1-8-1 against the spread under head coach Kliff Kingsbury when facing a team with a winning record in the second half of the season.