The Arizona Cardinals will travel to Indianapolis, Indiana, to face the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Week 2 of the 2024 NFL Preseason. The game will start at 7:00 PM ET on Saturday night.
Both teams enter week 2 of the NFL Preseason at 0-1 following close losses in Week 1. The Arizona Cardinals lost to the New Orleans Saints at home by a score of 14-16, while the Indianapolis Colts lost at home against the Denver Broncos by a score of 30-34.
The Arizona Cardinals lost at home against the New Orleans Saints in week 1 of the NFL preseason last Saturday by a score of 14-16. However, despite a low-scoring affair, the Arizona Cardinals looked good on offense. They outgained the New Orleans Saints by 328 to 286 yards offensively, won the time of possession battle from 31:09 to 28:51, and did not turn the ball over in the loss.
Kyler Murray did not play, and instead, Clayton Tune and Desmond Ridder were the only quarterbacks for the Cardinals to see action. Clayton Tune saw the majority of snaps at quarterback and completed 15 of 24 attempts for 163 yards and a touchdown. Desmond Ridder only attempted nine passes but completed four for 43 yards and was second on the team in rushing with five attempts for 39 yards.
Kyler Murray, like the majority of NFL starters this week, may see limited action in week 2. The Cardinals lost the game but did cover the 3-point spread as home underdogs against the Saints. The Arizona Cardinals will look to improve their record to 1-1 when they travel to face the Indianapolis Colts.
The Indianapolis Colts were in an offensive shootout in week 1 at home against the Denver Broncos in what was the highest-scoring game in the NFL preseason. However, they lost to the Broncos 30-34. Despite the high-scoring affair, the Colts only had 283 total yards offensively. They lost the time of possession to the Broncos from 21:59 to 38:02 but were +1 in the turnover battle.
Many of the starters for the Colts saw action in week 1 of the preseason, including Anthony Richardson, who completed 2 of 4 attempts for 25 yards and added a yard on the ground. In comparison, all five quarterbacks on the roster for Indianapolis attempted passes in the game. Still, none had more than six attempts, with Sam Ehlinger leading the team in passing yards after completing five of six attempts for 80 yards and a touchdown, while Jason Bean was the only one to throw a touchdown in the game.
Indianapolis lost the game and failed to cover the 1.5-point spread as a home favorite. The Indianapolis Colts will look to bounce back after their home loss against the Denver Broncos when they host the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday night in week 2 of the NFL preseason.
These teams play in opposite conferences, so they only face each other once every four seasons in the NFL's regular season. The most recent team meeting happened in the 2021 NFL regular season. It resulted in a 22-16 win on the road for the Indianapolis Colts. However, the Cardinals have won two of the last three games in the series against the Colts and have outscored Indianapolis by an average of 24 to 15.33 points per game in those matchups.
Arizona has lost two of its last seven games against Indianapolis and seven of its last nine road games. However, the Cardinals have covered the spread in six of its previous nine games, while the Colts have only covered it once in its last six matchups.
As a result, I am buying the .5 point and taking the 4 points with the Arizona Cardinals when they travel to face the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday night in week 2 of the NFL preseason.
