Experts Make Predictions for Cardinals-Saints

The Arizona Cardinals host the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football. Here's who the world wide web believes will emerge victorious.

The time for talk is nearly over, as the Arizona Cardinals are mere hours away from hosting the New Orleans Saints for Thursday Night Football. 

Both teams approach this matchup at 2-4, and a win would do wonders for entering the next stage of the season. 

Arizona has yet to score a touchdown in the first quarter of this season, and with nearly a calendar year from their last win at State Farm Stadium, all pressure rests on the Cardinals to finally pull together a win. 

Arizona enters their Week 7 meeting with New Orleans as -2.5-point favorites, according to SI Sportsbook. 

Here's some game picks from across the web:

NFL.com

"The prevailing question here is appropriate for both teams at this stage: Just who are the Saints and Cardinals?," asked Nick Shook.

"After taking down the woeful Panthers in Week 4, the Cardinals have lost two straight. They dropped a tough one at home to the still-undefeated Eagles, but showed signs of potentially figuring things out defensively. Then they went to Seattle, scored a whopping nine points and lost top receiver Marquise Brown to injury for roughly the next six weeks.

"Robbie Anderson is now a Cardinal, and DeAndre Hopkins is back from his six-game suspension. The latter should matter more, but neither might be the miracle cure the Cardinals are seeking for their struggling offense, especially against the Saints' defense.

"That same Saints defense needs to make a statement. Despite its reputation and the elevation of former coordinator Dennis Allen to head coach, New Orleans hasn't been as effective on that side of the ball as it was a year ago. Just look at the way in which the Saints lost to the Bengals last weekend, with Cincinnati scoring twice in the final four minutes for a come-from-behind win.

"This all sets up for a perfect bounce-back game for both teams, but because I'm tasked with choosing a team to win here, I'm going to roll with the Saints against a Cardinals offense that has a lot of swapped-in parts and has yet to establish a rhythm in 2022. 

"New Orleans needs to improve its safety play, but I still trust this group to cause problems similar to the ones Kyler Murray experienced in Seattle last weekend. There's too much experience in that defensive unit to make me think the Saints won't figure it out, and the matchup leads me to believe Week 7 will be a get-right game for New Orleans."

CBS Sports

"These two are among the biggest disappointments of the season. The Cardinals can't score, which was expected to be a strong suit of this team. The Saints have defensive issues, which was expected to be a strong point. So what gives? I think the Saints defense will get the best of it, even with DeAndre Hopkins back for the Cardinals."- Pete Prisco

Pick: Saints 24, Cardinals 20

Bleacher Report

"The Arizona Cardinals will try to win their first home game in about a year; they’ve lost eight straight in front of their fans at State Farm Stadium.

"With the return of three-time All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who’s served his six-game suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy, and the arrival of speedy wideout Robbie Anderson via trade from the Carolina Panthers, the Cardinals offense will pick up the pace after scoring 17 or fewer points in three of the last four weeks.

"While the two wide receivers should bolster Arizona’s offense, Knox picked the Saints to pull out the victory with their X-factor in Taysom Hill ...

"The Saints will play this game without wideouts Michael Thomas (foot) and Jarvis Landry (ankle), which gives the Cardinals a significant edge.

"Though we’ve seen surprising twists in Thursday night games, there's a compelling case to take the Cardinals in this spot. They’re way overdue for a home win and have their best skill player back on the field in Hopkins."

Score Prediction: Cardinals 28, Saints 23

Yahoo!

"The Cardinals should get a lift from the return of DeAndre Hopkins, who hasn’t played since Week 14 of last season. But the Saints have the better defense in this matchup and that makes the difference." - Sam Farmer

Prediction: Saints 23, Cardinals 20

Sporting News

"A battle of 2-4 teams comes to Thursday Night Football, but there should be at least more points this time in theory. The Saints found a way to rush for 228 yards in a loss last week, and the Cardinals have averaged just 13 points per game the last two weeks. DeAndre Hopkins' return should help, but what happens if Kliff Kingsbury loses a fourth straight home game?" - Bill Bender

Pick: Saints 23, Cardinals 20

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