Arizona Cardinals receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) takes the field before their game against the Las Vegas Raiders at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, on Aug. 23, 2025. Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Expert Says This Cardinals vs Panthers Bet is Best of Week 2

Originally posted on Arizona Cardinals on SI
By Donnie Druin | Last updated Sep 12, 2025 7:35 PM ET

The Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers will shortly collide at State Farm Stadium in a pivotal Week 2 matchup for both sides - and there's pressure on both sides for different reasons.

Quarterback Bryce Young and the Panthers hope to rebound after a dismal Week 1 loss while Cardinals passer Kyler Murray hopes to push Arizona to their first ever 2-0 start under head coach Jonathan Gannon.

While fans of both sides will be tuning in, plenty of others will have their eyes on the game for various reasons - which of course includes gambling.

What's the best bet to take? The Athletic has their finger on the over when it comes to combined point totals.

The Athletic: Take The Over in Cardinals vs Panthers

With a line of 43.5, Austin Mock likes the potential of what both offenses could offer on Sunday:

"The Panthers offense looked horrific last week and shouldn’t give you too much confidence that they’re a team you want to back when betting an over. Luckily for you, I’m a sicko who wants to believe that we are likely getting second-half-of-2024 Bryce Young this weekend. On the flip side of this, the Panthers defense is bad and should allow Arizona to set the pace here. If we can avoid a disastrous Panther offensive performance, I think this game should land in the mid-40s."

The only problem? If the Cardinals defense looks anything like it did in Week 1, the Panthers may have a tough time moving the ball.

The good news is Panthers head coach Dave Canales was in place for Carolina's 36-30 win over Arizona late last season - so the team obviously has a good idea on what works and doesn't work against the Cardinals.

Gannon himself says Arizona can't repeat their past mistakes.

“We didn’t stop the run, and we lost the takeaway battle and got beat. If you don’t do that you’re going to lose. It was very clear to our guys why we lost that game and just revisit it because they got a lot of players. Hubbard went for 152 (yards) versus us last year. You’re not going to win," he told reporters this week.

Arizona/New Orleans' over/under was at 43 last week, which fell to the under.