Who: New Orleans Saints vs. Arizona Cardinals

Where: State Farm Stadium, Glendale Arizona

Time: 8:15 pm ET, Amazon Prime 

Spread: Cardinals -2.5

Total: 43.5

The Cardinals (2-4) look to close the books on their disappointing start to the season when they take on the Saints tonight. Fortunately for Arizona, they get back a much-needed reinforcement tonight in top WR DeAndre Hopkins as he returns from serving a six-game suspension. Arizona also caught headlines earlier this week, acquiring disgruntled WR Robbie Anderson from the Panthers after Marquise Brown was lost for the season due to injury.

Meanwhile, the Saints (2-4) enter Thursday night banged up on both sides of the ball. They will be without WRs Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry, but rookie Chris Olave is set to return after missing the last game while in concussion protocol. While it is still up in the air as to who will be the QB between Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston, the Saints will rely on RB Alvin Kamara and the versatile Taysom Hill to generate yards on offense. On defense, New Orleans will be without their best CB, Marshon Lattimore. His absence will be a big blow to the 

For the Cardinals, James Conner will likely miss another contest which means RB Eno Benjamin will step in for a start again. Benjamin was ineffective against the Seahawks last week but should perform better against a Saints squad that struggles against the run. The Cardinals have even more significant injuries as their two starting offensive linemen, Justin Pugh and Rodney Hudson, will miss this matchup. Expect Saints DE Cam Jordan and Marcus Davenport to feast on the decimated O-Line and apply plenty of pressure to Murray. 

This is a tough matchup to handicap. For one, both teams began the season underperforming based on expectations and suffered multiple injuries. However, despite being without two of their top receivers, I will side with the Saints +2.5. Even though Hopkins is returning, the Saints do a decent job of defending against the pass. They almost upset the Bengals last weekend had it not been for a missed tackle that led to a 40-yard TD catch and run by Ja’Marr Chase. Arizona, conversely, struggles against the pass, ranking 20th in the league, which should help given the Saints’ depleted receiving corps. 

Whether Dalton or Winston is under center should not make too much of a difference. Both are competent QBs who can execute long drives and put up points when needed. Arizona, however, has seen Kyler Murray significantly regress this year. While the return of Hopkins should provide an immediate boost, missing two prominent offensive linemen will affect their output. 

I will continue my trend and take the Under in terms of the total. It’s a short week, and both teams are missing multiple key players. Saints plus the Under is my play. 

Pick: Saints +2.5

Under 43.5