<h1>Arizona Cardinals vs. Carolina Panthers Betting Pick NFL 2015 Playoffs Round 1</h1>
Arizona Cardinals vs. Carolina Panthers ATS Pick
By: JBG
Spread: Panthers -6.5 O/U 38
PICK AGAINST THE SPREAD: Panthers -6.5
Last Games: The Panthers crushed the Atlanta Falcons 34-3 and the Cardinals lost their 2nd straight falling 20-17 to the San Francisco 49ers.
The Panthers are the ESPN Pick in this NFC playoff match up favored by 6.5 points, but the betting pick is a tough one. The Cardinals and their QB issues are no secret, but after stinking it up in Seattle Ryan Lindley looked like a different signal caller in the season finale against San Francisco with over 310 passing yards. Still, he had 3 picks and facing a hot Carolina team on the road the Fox Sports Pick for Cardinals vs Panthers has to be the Panthers.
Many of the betting trends point to the Cardinals being CBS Sports Picks to at least cover, but that is not the case. Not only do the Cardinals have QB issues, but their D has slipped in the last several games and their run game has not looked good.
The Cardinals are 2-2 ATS in their last 4 road games and while covering came in the last 2 games that was facing a sub .500 Rams team and a to the 49ers, who had nothing to play for and still won the game.
In losing 2 straight games the Cardinals have given up over 150 rushing yards to 2 duel threat QB’s in Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick. Now they face Carolina’s Cam Newton, who is another duel-threat QB that ranked 2nd on the team in rushing yards. On top of that Jonathan Stewart has rushed for over 120 yards in 2 of his last 4 games.
The one solid betting trend for the Panthers, but does not play into CBS Sports Picks for them in this game is that they are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games being held on a Saturday.
The Cardinals racked up nearly 400 yards of offense in their win over the 49ers and in their last 8 games after accumulating more than 350 yards on offense they have covered the spread 6 times. However, in Carolina’s 4-game winning streak their defense has been great only giving up an average of just over 10 points per game.
Don’t take the trends in this game look at form, as the Panthers are the ESPN Pick not only to win at home, but cover the 6.5-point spread.
ATS and O/U Record
Arizona Cardinals: 11-5 ATS / O/U 5-10-1
Carolina Panthers: 8-8 ATS / O/U 8-8
Key Betting Trends
The Cardinals are 9-3 ATS in their last 12 road games, 9-3 ATS in their last 12 games overall, and in their last 6 road games they have an Under record of 4-1-1.
The Panthers are 5-2-1 ATS in their last 8 Saturday games, 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games after allowing less than 15 points in their previous games, and in their last 4 games facing a team with a winning record the total has gone Over every time.
Head-To-Head Betting Trends
The underdog is 5-2 ATS in the last 7 games between these 2 teams.
