packers cardinals player props picks
PHOTO CREDIT: CRAIG DUDEK

A major midseason Thursday Night Football game that will likely go a long way to deciding the NFC’s top seed opens the NFL Week 8 schedule in Arizona this evening. The undefeated Arizona Cardinals host Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, who would jump the Cards in the NFC standings via head-to-head tiebreaker with a win.

Let’s take a look at this NFL Week 8 Thursday Night Football matchup with our best Packers vs. Cardinals player props picks.

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Packers vs. Cardinals Player Props

With a number of stars on the field tonight, Packers vs. Cardinals player props figure to be heavily bet, particularly in the Arizona sports betting market. Let’s jump into our three favorite selections.

Kyler Murray Longest Completion Over 36.5 Yards

For a 6-1 team, the Green Bay defense has been pretty mediocre. It is ranked 23rd overall in total yardage allowed, giving up 235.9 yards through the air per game, just 18th best in the league. Opposing wide receivers have caught a touchdown against in every single game, while the unit has allowed 14 receiving touchdowns overall through seven games.

Green Bay has also allowed a receiving touchdown of 40 or more yards in four different games this season. In fact, the Packers have allowed a pass long enough to cash this prop bet in six of their seven games. The only team unable to do so against this defense was Chicago, a team that has the NFL’s worst passing offense.

The Cardinals and Kyler Murray present a much, much different look. Murray is throwing for 265.6 yards per game, 11th best in the NFL, despite Arizona blowing out most opponents, which allows the Cards to slow the game down late using their fifth-ranked rushing attack.

Murray has thrown 17 touchdown passes already, with three of those passes going for over 40 yards. He has a 30-yard pass or longer in every game this season, with at least two such throws in six of his seven outings. Murray owns the fourth best yards per pass average (9.0) and has the fifth longest pass in the league this season (77 yards). With the variety of weapons he has at his disposal and a tight, high-scoring game expected, he should have numerous opportunities to cash this prop.

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Randall Cobb Anytime Touchdown Scorer

With Davante Adams looking like he will miss Thursday night’s game due to COVID-19 protocols, the door is wide open for other receivers to fill his role for Aaron Rodgers. Adams receives over 10 targets per game, which will now be spread around to other options.

Who better to get some than a guy who has immense history and trust established with Rodgers like Randall Cobb?

Cobb is third on the team amongst receivers in receptions, targets, and yards. With Allen Lazard, the team’s second receiver in most categories, also out, Cobb’s role has to rise in prominence here.

Cobb’s only other competition for targets on the outside would be a rookie, Amari Rodgers, and a second year player, Malik Taylor, the two of which have combined for just four catches in 2021, none of which went for scores.

It’s unlikely that Green Bay will be able to completely change its offensive DNA simply because they are missing a few receivers. After all, 15 of their 19 offensive touchdowns this season have come through the air. Furthermore, the Cardinals have allowed at least one wide receiver to score in six of seven games, while also allowing nine touchdown receptions by wideouts already.

In fact, the two best passing offenses Arizona has faced thus far both threw multiple touchdowns to wide receivers. Minnesota had three touchdown passes to receivers and the Rams added two more.

Cobb has been utilized more as the season has progressed with 13 targets and 10 catches in the last three games in which he factored, compared to just four catches on five targets through the team’s first three outings. Look for Rodgers to lean on his old buddy, one whom he lobbied to get back in town this season in a game where he will need reliable hands.

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Aaron Jones Anytime Touchdown Scorer

With the aforementioned shortage of receiving options outside the numbers, Aaron Rodgers is going to have to be creative to get the ball into the end zone in this one. Green Bay’s defense will be facing the league’s fourth highest scoring offense, so the team will surely need to punch it in on offense multiple times. As such, Rodgers will have to lean on guys not named Davante Adams throughout this one.

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Aaron Jones is surely a guy Green Bay will rely upon heavily here. He is averaging over 16 touches a game and has caught 26 of his 28 targets in the passing game. He may have only scored in three of the team’s seven games thus far, but it seems inevitable that he will find paydirt in this one.

Jones enters Thursday off a six-carry, 11-touch game in last week’s win over Washington. The only other time he saw less than 17 touches in a game this season was in Week 1, the team’s only loss. He followed that game up with his two highest touch counts of the year the next two weeks and scored in both games. In fact, in the Week 2 game after the bust in Week 1, Jones scored four touchdowns.

While Green Bay will probably want to pound the rock a bit more in this one due to lack of receiving options, meaning more work for Jones on the ground, we almost feel as though Jones is more of a threat to score through the air here.

As mentioned, he catches almost every ball thrown his way and is averaging nearly four catches per game in 2021. Wildly, too, is that Rodgers has thrown five touchdown passes to running backs already this season with Jones catching four of those.

The icing on the cake is the fact that Arizona, who, in fairness, have an excellent pass defense from a yardage perspective, have actually seen nine of the 12 offensive touchdowns they have allowed thus far come through the air.

Jones will be getting a heavy workload in this one and is a threat to score on the ground and in the passing game. He will almost have to get in the end zone here if Green Bay thinks it has any chance to win this one on the road.

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