NFL Week 1 Betting Picks: Cardinals vs Saints Same Game Parlay

Week 1 is finally here, and we're kicking things off with a correlated 3-leg parlay built around the Arizona Cardinals vs. New Orleans Saints game. 

Leg 1: Arizona Cardinals ML -275

Arizona is one of the bigger favorites on the Sunday main slate, and while I’m not excited to lay almost a touchdown on a cross country traveling team playing at 1PM ET – I do expect them to win this game. The Cardinals are one of the teams I’m highest on this season to exceed expectations and this is a soft match-up to begin the season against one of the expected worst teams in football. I think the Saints offense can be exciting under new HC Kellen Moore, but Arizona should do enough against a lackluster defensive unit to find the win column on Sunday. 

 

Leg 2: James Conner ATD -165

Correlating with our Cardinals to win the game leg, I’m backing James Conner to hit paydirt in Week 1. Conner was extremely gamescript dependent last year – and turned in some massive games in Cardinals wins. In the seven Cardinals wins a year ago, Conner averaged 87 yards per game with five total touchdowns. He also featured an elite red zone role leading the team with 11 carries inside the five yard line. As noted above, Arizona is installed as 6 point favorites here and we should see a heavy dose of Conner if they’re playing from ahead. 

 

Leg 3: Chris Olave Over 4.5 Receptions -110 

Adding in our final leg, this is another play that will correlate with a potential Cardinals winning game script. Many have written off Chris Olave from a season long perspective due to his supposed lack of QB play, but I’m willing to bet on the talent winning out in the end. Olave saw one game of action with Spencer Rattler in 2024 and it resulted in 14 targets. Arizona also runs a two-high scheme that seeks to limit big plays. This could result in a lot of underneath looks for Olave across the middle of the field setting him up with YAC opportunity. If New Orleans is trailing, we should see a pass-heavy gameplan from the Saints and I think betting on Kellen Moore to get his best offensive player in good spots is something I’m willing to lean into. 

 

3 Leg Parlay pays +263