The Cardinals may easily be one of the most underrated teams in the NFL this season. Arizona’s offense is clicking as Kurt Warner has been very efficient ever since he replaced Matt Leinart last season. In 2007 Warner played in 14 games and threw 27 touchdowns and 17 interceptions, completed 62.3% of his passes and had a rating of 89.8. This season he is has 6 touchdowns, 1 interception, a 64.3% pass completion and a rating of 111.7. The most significant improvement is the fact that his touchdown to interception ratio has improved drastically from 2007. Last season he threw 1 interception for every 1.6 touchdowns and so far is only throwing 1 interception for every 6 touchdowns. The bottom line is that if the Jets so far have only faced one QB with a rating above 100. When they faced the Chargers they were eaten alive by Philip Rivers who completed 19/25 passes (76%) for 250 yards, 3 touchdowns and a rating of 130. Kurt Warner may not be as talented as Philip Rivers but you can definitely expect him to have the same kind of success that Rivers had against the Jets. New York defensive tackle Chris Jenkins is expected to play but will not be 100%. The Jets have allowed an average of 27 points per game, and are ranked 12th in yards allowed on the ground. They have had some success stopping mediocre offenses like Miami and New England, as they averaged 16.5 points allowed per game against them. However, the Chargers are a high powered offense that managed to score 48 points on them. The Cardinals do not have the same kind of depth on offense that San Diego has but they have respectable stats and are somewhat comparable. They are 10th in the league in yards gained and 14th in points scored. The most favorable aspect of this matchup is that the Cards rank 9th in passing yards meanwhile the Jets rank 21st in passing defense. You can expect Kurt Warner to exploit the Jets’ poor coverage and for receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin to put up big numbers.

Another reason why I believe Arizona will win this one is that the Cards defense has improved immensely from last season as they currently rank 8th in yards allowed and fifth in points allowed. The Jets’ offense has struggled a lot as Brett Favre is still adapting to a new system. They currently rank 23rd in yards gained and 21st in points scored. Brett Favre will be starting Sunday but will not be 100% as he is dealing with an ankle injury.

Expect this to be a fairly exciting game. After all, it’s not too often we get to see two veteran Super Bowl Champion quarterbacks face each other. Arizona will take this one. Betting on Arizona to beat the Jets without having a spread to cover is about the most valuable kind of bet you can make this week. You are guaranteed at least 1:1 odds if you bet money line.

Prediction: Arizona 27 New York 20

Related posts:

1. Arizona Cardinals @ San Francisco 49ers: Over/Under
2. Arizona Cardinals @ Tennessee Titans
3. New York Jets @ San Diego Chargers: Over/Under
4. Buffalo Bills @ Arizona Cardinals: Over/Under
5. Cincinnati Bengals @ New York Jets: Spread