Philip Rivers and the Los Angeles Chargers have one mission at hand as they get ready for the upcoming 2019 NFL regular season. It’s Super Bowl or bust for the Bolts this year (again). While the Arizona Cardinals don’t have any Super Bowl hopes coming into this season, they will kick off the start of their new era under head coach Kliff Kingsbury and No. 1 overall draft pick Kyler Murray when they take to the gridiron for their preseason opener on Thursday night. Now, let’s find out where the best betting value lies in this Week 1 scrimmage matchup.
Chargers vs Cardinals 2019 NFL Preseason Week 1 Odds, Preview & Prediction
- When: Thursday August 8, 2019, 9:00 PM ET
- Where: University of Phoenix Stadium, Phoenix, AZ
- TV: NFL Network
- Radio: Los Angeles / Arizona
- Live Stream: NFL Network
- NFL Preseason Week 1 Odds: Arizona -2 / Total: 35
Weather Forecast
- Partly Cloudy: 39°C/103°F
- Humidity: 23%
- Precipitation: 0%
- Wind: 9 mph WSW
- Cloud Cover: 38%
- Type of Stadium: Retractable
Why Bet On Los Angeles at +2?
Despite coming up short of their Super Bowl hopes last season, the Chargers went a fantastic 12-4 to reach the playoffs, although they got the short end of the stick in getting a wild card berth because of tie-breakers, despite posting a better record that every AFC division winners except Kansas City.
LA ranked a stellar sixth in scoring last season (26.8 ppg) while also finishing the 2018 campaign ranked eighth in points allowed (20.6 ppg). The Bolts got past the Baltimore Ravens in the wild card round before falling to the Patriots in the Divisional Round. While Rivers certainly won’t see action in this contest, the Bolts have a great veteran backup in Tyrod Taylor and to a lesser degree, veteran Cardale Jones.
Team Statistics
Offense:- Average Score For: 26.61
- Total Yards: 363.34
- Pass Yards: 253.28
- Rush Yards: 110.06
- Average Score Against: 21.50
- Total Yards: 337
- Pass Yards: 229.33
- Rush Yards: 107.67
Why Bet on Arizona at -2?
For Arizona, the Cardinals are looking to build up from the ashes of a pitiful 3-13 campaign under one-and-done head coach Steve Wilks. Everything is new in the desert with the Cards hiring young, former Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury who, in turn, used Arizona’s top draft pick on gifted dual-threat signal-caller and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray. The bad news is that Kingsbury is going to have his hand completely full in trying to rebuild a defense that ranked a dismal 26th in points allowed (26.6 ppg) and an offense that ranked dead last in scoring a year ago (14.1 ppg).
I know Arizona is playing at home and that they’d like nothing better than to get their 2019 campaign started off on the right foot, but, I’m thinking the LA Chargers are the pick to get the outright road win behind a standout effort from Tyrod Taylor.
While I am expecting to see Kyler Murray for a few series in this preseason opener, I don’t believe the valuable franchise signal-caller is going to play much and that means the outcome of this contest will lie largely in the hands of backups, Brett Hundley and Charles Kanoff.
Team Statistics
Offense:- Average Score For: 14.06
- Total Yards: 241.63
- Pass Yards: 157.69
- Rush Yards: 83.94
- Average Score Against: 26.56
- Total Yards: 358.82
- Pass Yards: 203.88
- Rush Yards: 154.94
Chargers vs Cardinals NFL Preseason Week 1 Betting Trends
- Chargers are 12-3 SU in the last 15 games
- Chargers are 4-8 SU in the last 12 games played in August
- The total went UNDER in 8 of the Chargers’ last 12 games
- Cardinals are 2-5 ATS in the last 7 games
- Cardinals are 1-7 SU in the last 8 games
- The total went UNDER in 5 of the Cardinals’ last 6 games played in August.
Expert Analysis and Prediction for Chargers vs Cardinals
The Chargers went an insane 7-1 ATS in their last eight road games a year ago and even though this is a meaningful preseason games, the Bolts are the better and more mature team on both sides of the ball. Arizona is 2-5 ATS in their last seven overall and 2-6-1 ATS in their last nine Thursday games and 1-4 ATS in their last five home games. I’m excited about Arizona’s latest rebuild, but the LA Chargers are the way to go in Week 1.
Pick: Chargers -2
