On Saturday afternoon, the Arizona Cardinals and Minnesota Vikings will square off in the 3^rd and final game of their preseason.  

The Arizona Cardinals are not expected to be a good team this season as the Cardinals have an over/under win total of 4.5 games which is the lowest over/under win total in the NFL this season. This season could also be a make-or-break year for Kyler Murray because if he doesn’t produce and Arizona has the 1^st pick in the 2024 NFL Draft the Cardinals could end up taking Caleb Williams to be the face of their franchise. The Cardinals are not a talented team and are in desperate need of talent on both sides of the ball so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Arizona winds up with the worst record in the NFL.

The Minnesota Vikings had a strong start to the 2022 NFL season winning eight of their first nine games and finishing with a record of 13-4 in the regular season which led to a tie for the 2^nd best record in the NFC, however, the Vikings were eliminated quickly from the playoffs as they lost at home in the Wild Card round against the New York Giants by a score of 13-4. The Vikings are expected to be a middle-of-the-pack team in the NFC as they have the 7^th best odds to win the NFC Championship at +1727 and are projected to finish in 2^nd place in the NFC North behind the Detroit Lions based on current odds in Vegas.

BookMaker has the Minnesota Vikings listed as 2-point favorites at home against the Arizona Cardinals in week 3 of the preseason. The Vikings have been the dominant team in the series winning seven of the last ten games and two of the last three. Minnesota has also been the better team at covering the spread going 6-2-2 ATS in the last ten and 2-0-1 ATS in the last three games.

Arizona has split their first two games of the preseason after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs at home in week 2 of the NFL preseason by a score of 10-38. Clayton Tune led the team in passing completing 12 of 24 attempts for 133 yards while also leading the team in rushing with 35 yards on six carries.

The Vikings are still looking for their first win in the preseason after losing on the road against the Seattle Seahawks in week 1 by a score of 13-24 and the Tennessee Titans at home in week 2 by a score of 16-24. Minnesota has not looked great offensively in the preseason as they are only averaging 14.5 points per game while averaging 255 total yards, 188 passing yards, and 87 rushing yards per game. 

Nick Mullens leads the team in passing completing 27 of 43 attempts for 290 yards and a touchdown. Ty Chandler leads the team in rushing with 22 carries for 65 yards. Jalen Reagor leads the team in receiving with six receptions for 65 yards.

Minnesota is the more talented team this season as they have an over/under win total of 8.5 compared to the 4.5 for Arizona. The Vikings have also been the better team in the series, winning seven of the last ten and two of the last three games while going 6-2-2 ATS in the last ten and 2-0-1 ATS in the last three games of the series. As a result, I am taking the Minnesota Vikings -2 on BookMaker for this matchup on Saturday afternoon.