TV Schedule: Sunday, Nov. 17, 1 p.m. ET, FOX
Stadium: EverBank Field
Weather: High 80, Low 65
Line: Arizona (-6.5)
While the Arizona Cardinals will likely not win the NFC West, they will likely give a good push at a playoff berth. It’s unfortunate that they are in one of the best divisions in the NFL. Carson Palmer leads the team at quarterback and has had mixed results so far this season while some people are hoping the Cardinals draft a quarterback in the upcoming draft. Palmer has passed for 2,154 yards and 12 touchdowns on the season while hitting Larry Fitzgerald a team-high 39 times for 493 yards and five touchdowns. However, it’s looking like the connection between the two has weakened since the first couple of weeks. Andre Ellington has come on as the top running back on the team, taking over Rashard Mendenhall as the top rusher, accounting for 388 yards and two touchdowns on 7.2 yards per carry.
Coming off their first win of the season, the Jacksonville Jaguars finally got the monkey off their back. Although they will likely miss out on the playoffs this season, Jacksonville earned themselves a moral victory that could help out when moving forward, especially playing in winnable games against teams like Arizona. Veteran quarterback Chad Henne leads the way in the pass game, accounting for 1,630 yards with just three passing touchdowns. Cecil Shorts III leads all wide outs with 48 catches for 607 yards and just one score while Justin Blackmon may be out the rest of the season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Maurice Jones-Drew started the season off poorly but his recent games have shown glimpses of what he can do for this team, rushing for 432 yards and three touchdowns on the year.
Defensively, the Jaguars rank dead-last in the league in points allowed as well as rushing yards allowed per game — good news for Ellington. While they aren’t very good in the run game, the Jags rank 13th in passing yards allowed. Arizona, almost the exact opposite, ranks third in stopping the run while ranking 20th in slowing down the pass game. The Cardinals rank 12th in points allowed.
PREDICTION: Cardinals 30, Jaguars 20
Related: Jacksonville Jaguars Prove That Some Wins Are Just Lucky
Connor Muldowney is a columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connormuldowney, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. You can also reach him at .
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