Carson Palmer Injury Tempers Cardinals Playoff Hopes

With the Arizona Cardinals hanging on every drop-back and audible from veteran quarterback Carson Palmer to make their playoff push, losing him to injury was the last thing they needed. Unfortunately, a Carson Palmer injury is exactly what they got in Week 7 against the Rams, before getting clobbered 33-0 in the suddenly-lopsided affair. With surgery scheduled, Palmer could miss up to eight weeks of the season, which – for all intents and purposes – means he’s likely out for the year. And for the 3-4 Cardinals, that probably means their year is out with him. Talk about the wrong kind of shot in the arm!

However, the Cardinals should still be a popular team at the sportsbooks, as they’re playing some potent teams – and some real stinkers – over the next 10 weeks. After their Week 8 bye (which couldn’t have come at a better time for backup Drew Stanton), the Cardinals will be visiting the 49ers in San Francisco. They follow up that eminently-winnable circus sideshow on the other side of the betting lines against the powerhouse offenses of the Seahawks, Texans, Jaguars, and Rams. Then, in late December, they get a reprieve against the Giants.

Still, SportsBettingArizona.com believes the Cardinals season seems to have ended with the Carson Palmer injury, and there’s not likely to be a whole lot of interest in the team from anyone but hardcore fans and savvy sports bettors. The Cardinals’ odds to win the NFC West have evaporated (+3300), their odds to win the conference itself are laughable (+7500), and their Super Bowl odds have dropped precipitously to +15000. Only the Giants, Colts, and Jets – all at +50000 – are longer shots to win it all.