Game: Arizona Cardinals vs. New Orleans Saints

Date: 9/6/2025 at 1:00 PM ET

Where to watch: CBS

This Sunday could mark the start of a long season for the New Orleans Saints. This past offseason, the Saints lost two key players to retirement in Tyrann Mathieu and Derek Carr, essentially triggering a hard reset for the franchise. The Arizona Cardinals, who enter with plenty of optimism, will travel to New Orleans to face the Saints this week. Last season was decent for Arizona, as they finished 3rd in the division at 8-9, while New Orleans struggled, finishing last in the NFC South at 5-12. These teams have met 32 times, splitting evenly at 16 wins apiece, with Arizona taking the most recent matchup in 2022. This game opened with Arizona -3.5, but the line has shifted to -6.5 at most sportsbooks. The moneyline has also moved heavily toward Arizona, opening at -192 to New Orleans’ +160, and now sitting between -270 and -300 for Arizona, and +220 to +240 for New Orleans. The over/under has stayed steady between 42.5 and 43.5 depending on the book.

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Position Group & Coaching Comparisons

Coaching: The Cardinals hold a clear coaching advantage in this matchup. Jonathan Gannon and most of his staff are entering their third year with the team, while Kellen Moore is making his head coaching debut, and the majority of the Saints’ coordinators are in their first season with the organization.

DL’s vs OL’s: Arizona is fairly middle of the pack on both sides of the line, but still holds an advantage over the Saints in both areas. The Saints’ offensive line can certainly put up a fight against the Cardinals, but rookie Kelvin Banks Jr. will be making his NFL debut at left tackle.

QB’s: Kyler Murray clearly has the edge over Spencer Rattler. Murray hasn’t always been the most consistent throughout his NFL career, but he has firmly established himself as a starting quarterback in this league. Rattler, on the other hand, feels more like he’s filling a void this season and hasn’t shown anything particularly impressive in his starts.

RB’s & TE’s vs LB’s: The Saints hold a slight edge here with a stronger linebacker group led by Demario Davis, along with rookie Danny Stutsman, who should be a big boost in run defense. It goes without saying that Alvin Kamara remains an elite back, but James Conner is no pushover, and tight end Trey McBride looks poised for a strong season.

WR’s & Secondaries: Neither secondary is particularly impressive, and the Saints clearly took a major hit with the retirement of Tyrann Mathieu. They still have a few veteran pieces but lean heavily on younger talent. The Cardinals’ secondary is largely unproven, though they do have some solid foundational players. I’d give the edge to the Saints overall in this category, as they have slightly more depth at receiver.

Betting Trends From 2024

The Cardinals were solid ATS last season at 11-6 overall, including 5-3 in road games. They did struggle as away favorites, though that only came up twice, going 0-2 ATS. The over/under was an even split, with 8 overs, 8 unders, and 1 push. On the road, the under cashed slightly more often, hitting in 4 of 8 games, with 3 overs and 1 push. When Arizona was an away favorite, the over hit once and the under once.

The Saints, meanwhile, were not great ATS, covering just 7 of 17 games, and finished 3-4 as a home underdog. The under was slightly more common overall, hitting in 9 of 17 games, and the same trend held at home, cashing in 4 of 7 as an underdog.

Final Thoughts

There will be some uncertainty for the Cardinals as they face a completely new coaching staff. That said, the Saints don’t appear to have enough pieces to cause any real damage, with home field being their only clear advantage. This matchup looks to be a low-scoring game, and it’s hard to envision a scenario where Arizona doesn’t come away with the win.