National Football League

2023 NFL odds: Cardinals 2-0 against the spread; can they cover again?

Published Sep. 20, 2023 11:08 a.m. ET

There are eight NFL teams that are 2-0 against the spread (ATS) this season.

Four are also 2-0 straight up (SU) — the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens — and three are 1-1 — the Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams and Tennessee Titans.

Each covered the spread in their loss. The Packers (+3) lost to the Atlanta Falcons 25-24, the Rams (+7.5) covered on a last-second field goal in a memorable bad beat against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2, and the Titans (+3) lost to the New Orleans Saints 16-15 in Week 1.

The outlier among those eight 2-0 ATS teams?

The winless Arizona Cardinals.

There are nine 0-2 teams. Six are 0-2 ATS. Those squads are the Cincinnati Bengals, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, Los Angeles Chargers and New England Patriots.

Two teams are 0-1-1 ATS — the Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers.

The (hard luck?) Cardinals — playing without starting quarterback Kyler Murray, who is on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list after suffering a torn ACL/meniscus in Week 14 last season — have been good luck for bettors who took the points against the Washington Commanders and New York Giants.

The Cardinals led at halftime of both losses.

Arizona (+6.5) led Washington 13-10 at the break before losing 20-16 in Week 1. The Cardinals (+4.5) then led the Giants 20-0 after two quarters, before New York rallied for a 31-28 win, its biggest comeback victory 1949.

Which team did the 1949 Giants mount the epic comeback against? The Cardinals, then based in Chicago.

This week, there was even more bad news for Arizona, as two-time Pro Bowl safety Budda Baker was put on injured reserve on Tuesday.

Prior to the season, considering Murray could be sidelined for the entirety of the season, the crew over at "Speak" discussed whether the Cardinals should actually plan to fail on purpose. And for LeSean McCoy, the answer was a clear yes.

"They're not trying to win here. They got a new coach — that's always the best time to tank. New coach, our expectation level is not gonna be high. … Caleb Williams is out there. … Kyler is up and down. I would tank it. Go ahead and tank. You're doing the right thing. Get some players, get some talent, go out there and compete."