Ravens QB Lamar Jackson
The Arizona Cardinals will travel all the way out East to face the Baltimore Ravens in an interconference Week 2 matchup.
Both teams carry momentum heading into their Week 2 clash — although for different reasons. The Cardinals mounted a late 18-point fourth quarter comeback against the Detroit Lions in Week 1, led by rookie Kyler Murray in his debut. Arizona ended up tying Detroit, 27-27, at the end of overtime.
Meanwhile, the Ravens absolutely wrecked the Miami Dolphins in Week 1 in historic fashion, winning 59-10.
What should we expect from this matchup and which team should you place your money on?
Arizona Cardinals (0-0-1) at Baltimore Ravens (1-0)
Sunday, September 15 at 1:00 PM ET
M&T Bank Stadium
Coverage: FOX
*All odds and betting info courtesy of OddsShark and originally posted by Intertops
- Cardinals vs. Ravens (-13)
- Over/Under: 46.5
Arizona Cardinals
As I mentioned earlier, No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-tying touchdown pass in regulation with 43 seconds remaining. Making matters even more impressive is not only did he lead the touchdown drive in the last two minutes, he also completed the two-point conversion to officially tie the game.
He then proceeded to lead the Cardinals to a field goal — and a temporary lead — on their first drive of overtime. Not bad for a guy making his first start in the NFL.
Baltimore Ravens
While the Cardinals had to fight their way back just to tie with the Lions, the Ravens absolutely trampled the Dolphins in the most dominant win in franchise history.
Baltimore scored 42 first-half points and 59 points for the game — both franchise records.
Most importantly, second-year quarterback Lamar Jackson had the first dominant passing showing of his NFL career, completing 17-of-20 passes for 324 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions.
Outside of Jackson, rookie wideout Marquise Brown had an absolute standout debut with four receptions for 147 yards and two touchdowns.
Trends and Prediction
The Arizona Cardinals are:
- Arizona are 0-4-1 SU in their last 5 games.
- Arizona are 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games against Baltimore.
- Arizona are 1-4 SU in their last 5 games against an opponent in the AFC conference.
- Arizona are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games against an opponent in the AFC North division.
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Arizona’s last 7 games played in September.
The Baltimore Ravens are:
- Baltimore are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games.
- Baltimore are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games at home.
- Baltimore are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games when playing at home against Arizona.
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Baltimore’s last 6 games against an opponent in the NFC conference.
- Baltimore are 13-6 SU in their last 19 games against an opponent in the NFC West division.
When you look at the trends of each of these two teams, one thing becomes clear — you probably want to take the under. Neither offense is very powerful — don’t be fooled by the Ravens’ 59-point outburst against the woeful Dolphins — and Kyler Murray is sure to continue to go through some growing pains in Week 2.
As dominant as Lamar Jackson was in Week 1, to expect anything similar — even against one of the lower-tier teams in the NFL — would be foolish. The Ravens will win this game, but it will be very sluggish in a game where both offenses are led by quarterbacks who are still very green.
The Ravens won just one game by more than 13 points with Jackson at quarterback in 2018. Expect Murray to throw for a lot of yards and keep this somewhat within striking distance — meaning the Cardinals should cover the massive spread — even in Baltimore in an early afternoon game.
Pick: Cardinals (+13), Under (46.5)
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