This is the story of a team that gets their fans' hopes up early and collapses late. In 2020, the Cardinals started 5-2 before their bye week and finished 3-6 to miss the playoffs. Last year they were 7-0 and eventually 9-2 before their late bye week but finished 2-5, including a first-round playoff drubbing at the hands of the eventual Super Bowl champion Rams. Losing star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins for the first six games due to a performance enhancing substances suspension and their best defensive player Chandler Jones to the Raiders also doesn't inspire confidence that 2022 may be different than the previous two seasons. Additionally, star quarterback Kyler Murray has made his frustrations known this offseason that he hasn't received a new monster contract extension from the team (which looks to have been resolved finally on July 21st).

The schedule is unique in that Arizona alternates home and road games for the first 10 weeks before a trip to Mexico City against the 49ers. The key stretch is Weeks 4-9, during which the Cardinals face only one team (Philadelphia) who made the playoffs last season. If they can go 4-1 at worst in those games, a playoff opportunity may be within reach, especially once Hopkins returns on Thursday night in Week Seven against the Saints. The schedule, though, seems rather difficult from the outset as it's probable that Arizona may be underdogs in at least their first three games, including home dates with two of the last three Super Bowl champions, the Chiefs and Rams. Adding to the potential misery is the closing stretch after the late bye week against Bill Belichick, Russell Wilson, Tom Brady, and last year's NFL runners-up, the 49ers. 

While the potential is there for Arizona to play well and stay in the NFC's playoff picture throughout, there's a better chance that the team may simply implode with notable personnel losses, including Jones, playing a part. There looks to be some significant value in the team to miss the playoffs at -125, which actually be one of the better bets on the NFL preseason odds board.

• More NFL futures: SportsLine Projection Model's best bets

Below, you'll find the Arizona Cardinals 2022 schedule, win total and more futures odds from Caesars Sportsbook, followed by picks from top SportsLine NFL analysts Larry Hartstein, R.J. White and Alex Selesnick. You'll also find three bets favored by the SportsLine Projection Model.

Entering the 2022 NFL season, Larry is 427-344 all-time on NFL sides (plus $3,764 for $100 players), including 394-330 ATS. He went 68-50 ATS (58 percent) and 8-3 on moneyline plays last season for a profit of $1,552. Over the past seven years, R.J.'s SuperContest picks are 329-250-21 (56.8 percent) and he consistently crushes the NFL: He went 445-378-24 on ATS picks from 2017-21, returning $2,542 to $100 players as SportsLine's No. 1 NFL expert in against the spread picks. Selesnick (aka PropStarz) specializes in MLB, NFL and NBA prop betting, where he implements a combination of research, statistical analysis and mathematical modeling to deliver profitable long-term results.

Arizona Cardinals 2022 schedule

Week 1: vs. Kansas City 
Week 2: at Las Vegas
Week 3: vs. Los Angeles Rams
Week 4: at Carolina
Week 5: vs. Philadelphia
Week 6: at Seattle
Week 7: vs. New Orleans (TNF)
Week 8: at Minnesota
Week 9: vs. Seattle
Week 10: at Los Angeles Rams
Week 11: vs. San Francisco (MNF - Mexico City)
Week 12: vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Week 13: BYE
Week 14: vs. New England (MNF)
Week 15: at Denver
Week 16: vs. Tampa Bay (SNF)
Week 17: at Atlanta
Week 18: at San Francisco

Arizona Cardinals 2022 futures odds

Win Total Over: 9.0 (+110)
Win Total Under: 9.0 (-130)

Make Playoffs: +105
Miss Playoffs: -125

Win Division: +300
Win Conference: +1500
Win Super Bowl: +3500

So will the Cardinals go over or under their win total for the 2022 season? And what other futures bets are worth making? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Larry Hartstein and R.J. White's Arizona Cardinals 2022 futures picks, all from the acclaimed experts who have crushed the NFL for years!