2023 NFL picks, score predictions for Week 10
Atlanta Falcons (4-5) @ Arizona Cardinals (1-8)
Sunday, November 12, 4:05 PM ET
If Clayton Tune is starting this game at QB for the Cardinals, you can take the Falcons and the under (41.5 points). However, it appears as though there is a legitimate chance that Kyler Murray will make his 2023 debut for the Cardinals in Week 10...
As a matter of fact, as this post was being written, Jonathan Gannon even announced Murray will start against the Falcons.
Jonathan Gannon announces Kyler Murray will start for the Cardinals Sunday vs the Falcons
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) November 6, 2023
Murray's return to the field helps soften the blow at least a little bit, but the idea of the Arizona Cardinals trotting out Clayton Tune against one of the NFL's best defenses this past week is asinine. It's crazy it came to that point. How is it possible that Joshua Dobbs was "benched" for Tune at all?
I think Jeff Darlington of NFL Network summed this up pretty perfectly with a strongly-worded Tweet during Sunday's action:
Good for Joshua Dobbs. It was odd/insulting for Arizona to bench him without a healthy Kyler Murray ready to step in — and validated today with the Cardinals’ 27-0 loss. Miami got penalized for “tanking.” Are Arizona’s actions really much better?
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) November 5, 2023
I'm really not sure how the Arizona Cardinals can justify trading Dobbs, unless they say they were simply doing Dobbs (and the Minnesota Vikings) a huge favor. Putting Dobbs in Minnesota has put him in a situation to potentially maximize his financial earnings going forward, but it's also put the Cardinals in a really weird spot. Clayton Tune showed us all against the Cleveland Browns that he's nowhere near ready to step foot on an NFL field in a legitimate game.
So, will the NFL penalize the Cardinals for "tanking"? Ultimately, we won't know for some time. What we do know is that fantasy football players everywhere hate Arthur Smith's guts. Bijan Robinson has played just over 65 percent of the Falcons' snaps this season, and his usage seems so unpredictable week-to-week. He has gotten 25 total touches in the last three weeks combined.
Perhaps the Falcons will find a way to actually involve their best players against arguably the worst team in the NFL.
With the added wrinkle of Kyler Murray playing, should we all change our projections? Even with news about Murray, Vegas is holding firm at the Falcons as 1.5-point favorites. I might change my projection for fun.
Prediction: Cardinals win 21-18