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Kyler Murray and Co. look to bounce back into the win column at the expense of the Carolina Panthers, and oddsmakers appear to be cornering the game in their camp, installing Arizona Cardinals as the road favs.

The Arizona Cardinals burst out of the gates reeling back-to-back wins, but in week 3, they suffered a surprising loss to the Detroit Lions. The 26-23 setback at State Farm stadium saw the Cardinals slip to a 2-1-0 SU start and fall into second place in the NFC West standings, behind the high-flying Seattle Seahawks (3-0-0 SU), but on a level with the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers (both 2-1-0 SU) in the win column.

As it is, the NFC West is shaping up to be the toughest, most competitive division in the league with all four teams above .500 going into week 4. That alone puts weekly pressure on winning each and every game because it’s likely to be at the very least a three-horse race to the finish line, if not a four-horse race.

Kyler Murray had his worst game of the season as Matt Patricia’s defense made life difficult for the second-year quarterback, forcing him to throw three interceptions.

Murray went 23 of 35 for 270 yards, 2 TDs and 1 rushing TD. DeAndre Hopkins caught 10 passes for137 yards and Andy Isabella had 2 TD receptions on the day.

Next up, are the Carolina Panthers at America Bank Stadium on Sunday, and by the NFL odds, the Cardinals stand in good stead with oddsmakers.

The Cardinals opened as the road favorites, laying 4 points to the Panthers with BookMaker at the start of the week. However, since markets began trading, the NFL line has moved against the Cardinals, dropping down to -3. Other top-rated sportsbooks are listing the Cardinals on 3.5 points.

Arizona Cardinals are 2-1-0 SU and ATS with a 2,3 winning margin and a +3.7 differential versus the spread. The ‘Under’ has cashed in all three games this season, with combined team totals falling under 48.5, 46.6, and 55, respectively.

Carolina Panthers Win Against the NFL Odds

The Panthers finally cracked the win column, beating the Los Angeles Chargers 21-16 in week 3 to improve to 1-2-0 SU and give first-time NFL head coach, Matt Rhule, his first win of the season. However, it was touch and go, until the very last minute it wasn’t certain whether the Panthers would clinch. That they did escape with the coveted “W” in the end was – to some extent — by sheer good fortune.

The Panthers had entered last week’s game with the Chargers as the +6 road underdogs, only to put paid on their NFL odds after surviving a low-scoring slugfest. The Panthers defense proved to be the deciding factor in the game, harassing rookie quarterback, Justin Herbert, into three turnovers.

Teddy Bridgewater, meanwhile, went 22 of 28 for 235 yards and 1TD and Joey Slye drove home five field goals to lift the Panthers to victory.

Teddy Bridgewater is slowly getting accustomed to his new team and offense. He ranks seventh in the league in passing yards (871 passing yards through three games), but his TD: INT ratio is 2:2 and he has been sacked 8 times.

It’s fair to say, the Panthers passing offense is far from clicking on all cylinders and it needs to get better sooner rather than later; perhaps, now more so than ever before, seeing as the Panther’s run game has suffered a setback with the injury to Christian McCaffrey (ankle), who is set to miss most of the first half of the season.

In fact, in the absence of McCaffrey, it’s become glaringly obvious just how reliant the Panthers offense is on his rushing prowess. Without McCaffrey, the Panthers offense seems to chug along without the kind of one-two punch and knockout blow that many of the real contenders have in abundance.

Carolina Panthers are 1-2-0 SU and ATS with a 4.3 losing margin on average and a +1.2 differential versus the spread. The ‘Over’ has cashed in two of their three games, cracking 47 and 48 points respectively. The 21-16 win over the Los Angeles Chargers fell below the closing 43.5-point total.

Although the Panthers are coming off a good win on the road in week 3, odds makers are cornering this game in favor of the Arizona Cardinals.

On balance, there are many reasons for giving the Cardinals the edge. They have a dual-threat quarterback that many are high on, better offensive weapons, and a stouter defense that currently is tops in NFL-best opponent third-down conversion rate at 28.6 percent and ranks top ten in scoring defense.

The Cardinals should have a strong bounce-back performance against a Panthers team that leaves much to be desired, as it’s still in the fledgling stages of redevelopment under new management. Lay the points with the Cardinals on NFL picks.

Free NFL Picks: Cardinals -3 (-121) with BookMaker (Visit our BookMaker Review)

Cardinals -3-121

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