The sportsbooks are not kind to the Cardinals' quest to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2015.
Arizona loaded up on older, established veterans this offseason like defensive end J.J. Watt, receiver A.J. Green, center Rodney Hudson and kicker Matt Prater to plug up holes from 2020. It is gunning for a playoff run as quarterback Kyler Murray's rookie deal enters its third season, and to build from last year.
The Cardinals finished the 2020 season 8-8, out of the playoff picture by mere tie-breaker rules behind the Chicago Bears.
Are the reinforcements, along with another year of development from head coach Kliff Kingsbury and Murray, enough to get the Cardinals over the edge?
Vegas says no.
Teams cannot go 8-8 without a tie anymore as there are now 17 games on the schedule. That said, the Cardinals win totals are as .500 as they come.
BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings and PointsBet all have Arizona at 8.5 wins.
This could partly be due to the schedule. NFL analyst Warren Sharp made a schedule forecast based on projected win totals, and had the Cardinals ranked as the ninth-most difficult in the NFL.
Arizona takes on 2020 playoff teams in nine of 17 games and faces the San Francisco 49ers twice, who went through injury hell last year but made the Super Bowl in 2019.
The Cardinals also play the Vikings, another squad that made the 2019 playoffs but struggled with injuries last season, and the Lions and Panthers, sub-.500 teams in 2020 that beat Arizona.
The NFC West may also provide even more of a challenge this year.
San Francisco has its starters back from injury and added veteran center Alex Mack. Seattle has a very similar roster as last year when it won the NFC West, but it brings in new offensive play-caller Shane Waldron. The Rams traded for quarterback Matthew Stafford, who has give Arizona trouble over the past few seasons.
Arizona finished 2-4 in the division last year and will likely have to do better than that to have a shot at a playoff berth.
This is a critical year for the Cardinals to produce results given the win-now offseason they had, but the sportsbooks are ambivalent on their chances knowing that odds are generated to attract equal betting on each side.
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