Free Week 8 Prediction: Cardinals vs. Vikings NFL Odds
Looking for Arizona Cardinals vs. Minnesota Vikings Free NFL Week 8 picks & NFL odds? NFL betting sees the Cardinals taking on the Vikings on Sunday, October 30th, 2022, at U.S. Bank Stadium. Cappers Picks provides complimentary handicapping picks all NFL season long including all NFL Week 8 games so stay tuned for more FREE NFL predictions like this Arizona – Minnesota matchup.
NFL Handicapping Analysis: Week 8
(3-4) Arizona Cardinals vs. Minnesota Vikings (5-1)
Date: Sunday, October 30th, 2022
Time: 1:00 PM EST
Venue: U.S. Bank Stadium
NFL Week 8 ATS Betting Lines: Cardinals +4 (-110) | Vikings -4 (-110) (Bet Now!)
NFL Week 8 Moneyline Odds: Cardinals +170 | Vikings -195
NFL Week 8 NFL Betting Total: O/U 48
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An NFC battle sees the Cardinals on the road to take on the Vikings on Sunday, October 30th.
Arizona is coming off a high-scoring win on Thursday Night Football while the Vikings will be back in action after their bye week.
So far, the Cardinals have largely been a disappointing team and they sit with a record of 3-4 while the Vikings have been pretty impressive as they find themselves with a 5-1 record and are clearly the best team in a very weak division.
The opening line saw Minnesota as a 6.5-point favorite and that number is now down to 4 in most spots. There has been a slight shift in the total with it going from 47.5 to 48.
Arizona Cardinals
Inconsistency has once again been a theme surrounding the Cardinals this season and it will likely stay that way for the rest of the season just based on what we have seen so far.
After they picked up a terrible loss to the Seahawks, this team simply had to get back into the win column and they did that with a 42-34 win over the Saints on Thursday.
Despite getting the result they wanted, it is still a game that I walked away from with a lot of questions about their long-term situation for this season.
For a game that was not competitive for a while, they really did allow their opponent to make it closer than it should have been, which is concerning for a team that wants to be put in the category of a top team in the NFC.
Look, a win over a lousy team like New Orleans was not going to prove much anyway, but it would have been a good sign for this team if they were able to do it in a more convincing manner as opposed to letting them back in the game and at least making it close in the end.
The offense had a clear goal in mind to challenge a bad Saints’ defense and they were able to do that in multiple different ways with lots of people stepping up in that area.
I did not think Kyler Murray was great out there, but he made the plays he needed to and he did not turn the ball over, which is something he has often struggled with. He finished the evening completing 20 of 29 passes for 204 yards and 1 touchdown while spreading the ball to a variety of weapons.
Clearly, a big addition for the Arizona offense in their last game was DeAndre Hopkins and he made an immediate impact, as he caught 10 passes for 103 yards in the win. I was not very high on their offense before that game, but there is no doubt a guy of his caliber can change the way that unit operates.
Another player that really stood out and took advantage of a weak defense was Eno Benjamin who averaged almost 8 yards a carry for 92 yards and a score. For this team to be more balanced on offense, they are going to need to get more production like that on the ground.
Even with the offense doing its job, I still did not walk away from this game all that impressed with the defense that did allow a lot of the yards through the air against an Andy Dalton-led offense.
I get that they also picked off Dalton three times, but they should not have allowed him to throw for over 350 yards and 3 touchdowns. Those are the sorts of things that are very concerning for a defense that already had a lot of question marks. It is definitely fair to wonder what they will do when they have to face off with more capable quarterbacks.
Arizona definitely has a chance to be close or even win against the Vikings, but they are going to have to play a cleaner brand of football in order to do so.
Not playing a full game is not going to work against a talented and confident Minnesota team at home. If certain adjustments are not made by the Cardinals, it could be a long afternoon for them.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings defeated the Dolphins 24-16 in week 6 and then followed that with their bye week right before their interesting matchup with the Cardinals this Sunday afternoon.
Although they did face a Miami team without Tua, I was impressed by what they were able to do in that ball game despite not playing all that flashy.
Kirk Cousins finished going 20/30 for 175 yards and 2 touchdowns and really did a good job of taking what the opposing defense gave him in that one. He has certainly had more eye-popping stats in the past, but I still liked what he was able to do against a tricky defense.
Justin Jefferson once again stood out as he led the way with 6 catches for 107 yards. On a day when there was not a ton of production from the other pass catchers, it was important he had a performance like that.
Dalvin Cook and the running game were not huge parts of their offensive attack against the Fish, but he still managed to average nearly 6 yards a carry and run for a score in the win. It will be important for this team to have that kind of success once again on the ground against a defense that has not always stopped the run all that well.
Something that I have liked from Minnesota so far in 2022 is their defense and that was once again put on display against the Dolphins where they really played quite well on that side of the ball, even though it was against Skylar Thompson and Teddy Bridgewater.
The Vikings did a good job of generating pressure on the quarterback all game long while playing strong third-down defense and forcing their opponent to turn the ball over on multiple occasions.
This defensive group is not the most talented, but they have really gotten the job done more than they have not, which is something they will look to keep up against Arizona and for the rest of the season.
At 5-1 on the season and everyone else in the North not playing all that well, a victory this week is a good opportunity for these guys to really get some separation between themselves and everyone else in their division.
Something that will have to be better for them when facing the Cardinals is their production on third down. They were just 2/12 on that down against Miami and they still get the result they wanted, but that will not be the case on Sunday.
If Minnesota is able to be better in that specific area while doing a lot of what they have done this season, it is very possible they walk away with a win against a solid opponent.
If their offense is on their game, I would expect them to move the ball on Arizona, but there are certainly questions about containing Kyler Murray, specifically with his legs. If he is running all over the field while making big throws, it would be a little harder for me to see the home team getting the win in this spot.
NFL Betting Trends:
- Cardinals are 16-5-1 ATS in their last 22 games in October.
- Cardinals are 20-8-2 ATS in their last 30 road games.
- Vikings are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games after allowing more than 350 total yards in their previous game.
- Vikings are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games in October.
- Vikings are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games against a team with a losing record.
4* Free Week 8 NFL Betting Prediction: Cardinals +4(-110)
The Cardinals are not a team that I am overly high on, but I also do not feel they are so overmatched in this game with the Vikings to the point they can’t keep it close.
As noted earlier, having Hopkins back in the mix makes an already good offense even more dangerous and dynamic, which I do feel will spell trouble for this Minnesota secondary.
In the end, the Vikings are the better team here and I do think their playmaking ability on the offensive side of the ball will be too much to handle, but I do not see this as a game where they roll out the cleats and get the easy cover.
The 4 points are too many for me to lay with Cousins and co., which is why I will grab them with the Cards.
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