Green Bay vs Arizona: Wild Card Playoffs NFL Predictions

Green Bay Packers (10-5 SU, 10-4-1 ATS) at Arizona Cardinals (10-5 SU, 9-6 ATS)

In the football betting odds, the Cardinals are listed as a three-point favorite, with a posted total of 43.5 points.

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Sunday, January 3 – 4:15 PM ET
BetUS NFL betting lines: ARIZONA -3, Total 43.5

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

GB has won six of its last seven games SU
GB has covered its last five games
GB has covered four of its last five road games
GB has lost eight of its last 12 road games SU
ARIZ has covered 14 of its last 20 games
ARIZ has won six of its last eight games SU
ARIZ has played five of its last six games UNDER the total
ARIZ has won and covered four of its last five home games
ARIZ has played 14 of its last 20 home games OVER the total
ARIZ has played five of its last seven home games UNDER the total

Also…

GB has covered four of the last six meetings
GB has won five of the last six meetings SU

When you look at this game with respect to the NFL betting odds, you’d have to expect that the quarterbacks you’ve see the most of are Matt Flynn of the Packers and Matt Leinart of the Cardinals.

I’m not sure either of these clubs is overly concerned about losing “momentum.” maybe if you were looking for some incentive, Arizona conceivably has a shot to be the #2 seed for the NFC and grab a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

That’s not likely to happen, and because of that we may see a scenario that adds another strange NFL betting odds angle to this game. These teams may actually have to face each other next week, right back here in Glendale. I wonder how the Packers would handle those kind of travel arrangements, since two trip out west in the space of a week would indeed be taxing.

Although it’s altogether possible that Leinart plays the majority of snaps, Ken Whisenhunt claims that doesn’t mean his team is going to be laying down. “I think that we’ll go ahead and plan and prepare like we’re playing Green Bay for a game of significance,” is what he was heard to say.

It’s been pointed out in the media that this game may wind up nothing more than a glorified pre-season scrimmage; you know, the kind you have between teams that wind up playing each other that week. Of course, it wins up producing interesting possibilities. Mike McCarthy, coach of the Packers, downplays this. “We’re not going to change the way we approach games, the way we play games, and I’m sure our opponent’s not going to, this week or next week,” says McCarthy.

That sounds like CoachSpeak. Take my word for it – both coaches are angling for ways to turn this week’s game against each other to their advantage for NEXT WEEK’S game. McCarthy will hold out plenty of players for this game because he has done so in the past.

Do the Packers have an interest in limiting the playing time of newly-minted Pro Bowler Aaron Rodgers, who has been sacked 50 times on the season? That could be, although Rodgers has only been sacked six times in the last four games.

When the mentality exists in the coaching profession where a Peyton Manning is pulled when the Colts are supposed to be going for an undefeated season, I don’t see where Arizona would risk the more brittle Kurt Warner for a chance to move up in playoff seed, when that chance is somewhat minuscule. This will affect the way we look at things in the betting lines.

I realize that Leinart has been a disappointment in the pro ranks, and has been rightly criticized for his work ethic. Still, if it is essentially a matchup between him and Matt Flynn, I’d have to give Leinart the edge, if for no other reason that at least Leinart has some starting experience in this league, while Flynn has thrown exactly 14 passes as a pro. I can see McCarthy laying down here and pulling most of his starters, which will take away much of the effect of his team’s +22 turnover ratio.

With that in mind, we’ll lay the points with Arizona, the three-point favorite in the spread.

OUR PREDICTION: ARIZONA -3 **

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