Arizona Cardinals @ Carolina Panthers, 1:00 PM
The Arizona Cardinals are still clinging to life in the NFC playoff picture. At 7-7, they are just one game behind the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks for that 8-6 record, and what makes this very interesting is that the Cardinals did beat the LA Rams weeks ago, so as of now, they do have a slight advantage. I tried to tell people that the Cardinals would be better than people thought in 2024, and here we are.
Sure, they aren't a great team, but this team won just four games in all of 2023 and are probably going to double their 2023 win total here in Week 16 of the 2024 season. The Cardinals are on the right track, but this team simply needs more talent on the roster, and I don't think they have any other major issue besides an overall lack of talent. Let's not overthink this with the Cards.
The Carolina Panthers come into this game with not a ton going for them; it's another lost season for Carolina, but Bryce Young has played reasonably well over the last month or so. Right now, the momentum seems to be favoring Young returning as the Panthers starting QB in the 2025 NFL Season. For better or worse, that's what it seems like now.
But in this game, the Arizona Cardinals are going to beat the Carolina Panthers. It's an away game for Arizona, so they do have the challenge of playing away from home, but I do not anticipate this game giving them a ton of troubles.
Expect the Cardinals to win this game, and I really do not believe this is an upset game to have your eye on. There are some other matchups on the Week 16 slate that may lend themselves to an upset possibility. Take the Cardinals in this one.