New England Patriots vs. Arizona Cardinals Monday Night Football Betting Preview

On Monday Night Football this week, the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals will meet in Glendale to close out Week 14. Both teams are at .500 or worse on the season, though the Patriots are still in the mix for the postseason with a 6-6 record coming into this matchup. 

Here, both teams will hope for a win that will help them move in the right direction, even if the playoffs might be far from their reach.

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New England Patriots

The New England Patriots come into this game with a .500 record on the season, having split their first 12 matchups. They have lost two games in a row against legitimate contenders for the Super Bowl in their last two outings. 

Those losses came against the Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills, as the Patriots will aim to take advantage of facing weaker competition here.

For the Patriots, the question in each game is going to be whether they can generate some offense behind Mac Jones. It has been a turbulent season for Jones, who was injured and benched for a period of time, and has been up and down since returning to the field. 

Here, Jones will have to be at or near his best against a Cardinals team that has the potential to get after the quarterback.

Arizona Cardinals

For the Arizona Cardinals, this season may be a lost one, as they are at 4-8 coming into the final stretch of this season. They have also lost two games in a row, falling against the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Chargers in their last two contests. Here, the Cardinals face a situation where they more or less need to win out in order to have any sort of shot at the postseason.

Arizona has struggled on both sides of the ball this season, but their defense has been their weak link above all else. They rank in the bottom-five in scoring defense, and will need to be better to slow down the struggling Patriots offense. That will begin with J.J. Watt and the pass rush, who need to give Jones as little time to throw as possible to avoid getting lit up in the back end.

Keys To The Game

For the Patriots, the number one key to this game is going to be running the football early and often. They enter this game as -2.5 point road favorites.

With Mac Jones struggling and Jakobi Myers being out for this game, we could see the Patriots passing game continue to struggle here. The running game of the Patriots could help to remedy that situation, as Rhamondre Stevenson will be influential on the outcome.

On the Arizona side, being as disciplined as possible in the secondary is going to be the key. Blown coverages have the potential to really bail out a struggling quarterback in Mac Jones who is without some of his top options through the air. 

If the Cardinals can avoid those, they could come away with their second win of the season at home and their fifth win of the season overall.