Cardinals vs. Jaguars Free NFL Picks for Week 3

We've got a week three inter conference battle between the Arizona Cardinals and the Jacksonville Jaguars. These are two young teams that seem to be headed in opposite directions although it's too early in the season to draw any definite conclusions. With that in mind, Jacksonville will look to get their first win this week while the Cards look to continue their unbeaten start to the season.

Arizona Cardinals vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Sunday, September 26, 2021 - 01:00 PM EDT at TIAA Bank Field

Rough Start for Jacksonville

Ever since his freshman season at Clemson, Trevor Lawrence was seen as the future savior of one of the struggling franchises in the NFL. This past offseason, he was the first overall pick of the Jags, so of course the expectations in Duval county were going to be sky high. After two weeks, the jury is still out on where this season will go.

https://youtu.be/G-2oYuHostM

To be clear, I think judging Lawrence based on his first two professional games is grossly unfair. Mind you, I'm not saying that because he played badly. Most rookie quarterbacks aren't good, that's just part of the deal. For those of you pointing to Justin Herbert in Los Angeles, yes there are some exceptions but it's not like the Chargers haven't been good for an extended period of time. They have All Pro level players on both offense and defense which Trevor Lawrence absolutely does not have. The point is, do we see the potential that everyone is talking about: for me the answer is yes.

The actual issue I see is the culture surrounding the team as a whole. Let's start with their new head coach Urban Myer. He is a legendary college coach but this certainly isn't college football. Some of his early season decisions have been puzzling, like letting Tim Tebow try out for the team as a wide receiver. Again, it's too early to blame Myer but let's just say I am part of the group of people that don't think it's going to work.

Cards Looking Like the Real Deal

At the moment, Kyler Murray looks like a legit MVP candidate. That is one of the many reasons his team comes into this game as -7.5-point road favorites according to the SBR odds page. Most of the top online betting sites have the total at 52 with a few 51's available depending on where you shop. In my opinion, even though I hate this number, it does seem a little bit short in this situation.

Through two games, the Cards are averaging 36 points per game and I don't see that number coming down against this Jags squad. Not only do I not think the Jags' defense can slow the Cards down, I don't see how they put up enough points to keep up. Both Houston and Denver were able to run the ball effectively and so far, the Cards run game has looked good. If Murray can get the support of the run game versus Jacksonville, I see a double digit win in this spot.

Trevor Lawrence #16 of the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 12, 2021 in Houston, Texas. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images/AFP

My Pick

I don't want to count the Jags offense out just yet because I do see the talent there or Lawrence, despite the bad numbers so far. Everything for him seems a step late so far and I'm sure he will correct those issues. His first touchdown pass last week was special and I think we see more of that moving forward as he catches up with the speed of the game.

My NFL pick has more to do with how dynamic Murray is at the moment. His ability to scramble and buy time in the pocket while still being accurate in those situations is a formula that Jacksonville is not equipped to stop at the moment. In reality, most teams in the league aren't either. Now that Murray seems to be totally in sync with De'Andre Hopkins, who happens to be the best receiver in the league (in my opinion) means they have one of the deadliest one two punches in the league. I don't see any way that this team gets less than 35+ points in this game.

NFL Pick: (visit our Sportsbook Review)

*The pick reflects the line at the moment the writer made the play, the odds at the beginning of this article show the live line movement. Since the lines might vary, don’t forget to refer back to our live odds.