Lions vs. Cardinals Point Spread: NFL Week 3 Odds, Prediction
The Arizona Cardinals can build off a convincing first win of 2024 when they host the 1-1 Detroit Lions Sunday. Arizona’s 41-10 victory last weekend saw them explode out to a 24-3 lead filled with highlight-reel moments from two key playmakers. 2024 fourth-overall pick Marvin Harrison Jr. hauled in two long touchdowns and led the way with 130 receiving yards. Quarterback Kyler Murray razzled and dazzled his way to 266 passing yards, 59 rushing yards, and three touchdowns. Hope in Arizona is now getting restored, with good reason.
Through two weeks, the Lions appear a little out of sorts. Detroit came out 1-1 after two home games to kick off their 2024 campaign, scoring a sum of 42 points and most recently losing 20-16 to Tampa Bay. For a club with Super Bowl aspirations, being below .500 won’t be acceptable.
Kickoff at State Farm Stadium gets started at 4:25 p.m. EDT with the Lions the road favourite at -3, and the over-under at 51.5 on the NFL odds.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Detroit’s 413 yards per game this season ranks second in the NFL. That hasn’t translated to scoring though, as Detroit ranks dead in the middle of the league with 21 points per game. It’s been all due to red zone woes too, well at least in last week’s loss versus Tampa Bay.
The Lions posted nearly 500 yards last week but ended up one-for-seven in the red zone and saw their game total go under for a second consecutive week. Arizona’s been on the opposite side, playing in two games north of 50 total points. The Cardinals are averaging the league’s second-highest points per game at 34.5. This equates to one thing: if Detroit can get their red zone down out in the desert, a 60-point over-under may not be high enough.
Head-to-head, the Cardinals are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 times hosting the Lions.
Detroit Lions
Six failed red zone attempts is something that’s keeping up Dan Campbell and his staff at night, especially when these failed scoring plays came in a four-point loss. And if fixing the red zone woes is priority number one, figuring out a way to get Sam LaPorta involved in the offence is priority number two. The sophomore tight end had two catches for 13 yards in last weekend’s defeat, the lowest yardage in his young career. On the positive side, Amon-Ra St. Brown looked like his usual self with 11 grabs for 119 yards, both game-highs.
Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson deserves a mention here too. The 2022 second overall pick had 4.5 sacks last Sunday, single-handedly putting Detroit’s pass rush on his back. Detroit’s defence is no longer a liability, but a little short-term help for Hutchinson could go a long way.
Arizona Cardinals
Underreacting isn’t fun, so let’s delve into this Cardinals offence and the potential looming. It was big plays galore in the Cardinals 41-10 win over divisional rival L.A. last weekend, and quarterback Kyler Murray was at the nucleus of it all. Murray accounted for 325 yards and three touchdowns, while also turning the ball over zero times. And while the two touchdown strikes to Marvin Harrison Jr. made all the headlines, it was a Houdini-like scramble that resulted in an 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Elijah Higgins that fully cemented Murray as a top-tier QB.
Running back James Connor is naturally the forgotten man in this Cardinals equation but he is off to a hell of a start in 2024. The 29-year-old burnt as much time as he could last week by rushing for 122 yards, also finding the end zone to open the second-half-scoring.
DET
ARI