Packers vs. Cardinals Prop Bets for Thursday Night Football
The Green Bay Packers and the Arizona Cardinals will open Week 8 of the NFL season on Thursday Night Football at State Farm Stadium. Oddsmakers are expecting absences from Green Bay’s wide receiver corps to result in a comfortable victory for the Cardinals, pricing Arizona as a touchdown favorite on the spread., as we’ve already discussed in our Packers vs. Cardinals preview. In the NFL, sides and totals are a saturated market, meaning that they are often completely stripped of their value by the time kickoff draws near. Instead of forcing action on big markets, NFL bettors may find better value on some player props this evening.
After going 7-2, including cashing three plus-money props in Week 7, let’s take a deeper look at the matchups and Packers vs. Cardinals player props to see where they can find value at sportsbooks for Thursday Night Football.
Packers vs. Cardinals Player Props
Kyler Murray o272.5 passing yards (-110)
Kyler Murray has not hit this threshold since Week 3 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but that has far more to do with game script than it does with lack of ability. In a tightly-contested affair in Week 2, Murray threw for 400 yards. In a game against Jacksonville that was close into the fourth quarter, Murray had 316 passing yards. Green Bay is dealing with numerous injuries on the defensive side of the ball. On the season, the Packers are allowing an opposing passer rating of 92.9. Murray should have a strong performance in this one.
Aaron Jones Over 57.5 rushing yards (-115)
Bettors have a fantastic buy-low opportunity on Aaron Jones tonight after he ran for only 19 yards last week against the Washington Football Team. Yet, Jones should not be blamed for a game plan that emphasized passing the ball against a Washington defense that is allowing the sixth-fewest yards-per-carry in the NFL. On Thursday Night Football, Aaron Jones gets a much better matchup against an Arizona Cardinals defense that is allowing the second-most yards-per-carry to opposing running backs. Prior to last week, Jones had rushed for 67, 82, 48, 103, and 76 yards, respectively in consecutive weeks. Take the over on his rushing prop tonight.
DeAndre Hopkins – Any Time Touchdown Scorer (+110)
In seven games this fall, DeAndre Hopkins has found the endzone in five contests and seven times overall. He is unquestionably Murray’s favorite target near the goal line and has a favorable matchup on Thursday against a Green Bay defense that has allowed 14 passing touchdowns in 2021—an average of two per game. Hopkins is likely to be shadowed primarily be Eric Stokes, who Pro Football Focus grades as the 66th best player at his position so far this season. Rasul Douglas, the other starting cornerback has been only marginally better, and would not change this prediction if he lines up against Adams. Hopkins has a good chance to find pay dirt in this one.
Aaron Rodgers Under 1.5 passing touchdowns (+170)
Aaron Rodgers has thrown for at least two touchdowns in six consecutive games, so do not bet the house here. However, the absence of Davante Adams and Allen Lazard should lead to more rushing attempts near the goal line than bettors are used to seeing when watching the Packers. Factor in that the Cardinals are the second-worst rush defense in the NFL, and the opportunity for a rare one touchdown performance from Rodgers goes up even further. Again, do not bet the house, but at significant plus-money, the game script and injury report make this play a worthwhile consideration.
Image Credit: Imagn