Patriots vs. Cardinals Monday NFL injury report, odds, trends: Bettors backing New England on spread, DeAndre Hopkins for touchdown

The most rested an NFL team can possibly be in the regular season is to come off its bye week and then play on Monday night. That's the case for the Arizona Cardinals tonight as they host the Patriots to conclude Week 14. Despite all that time off to get healthy and prepare, the Cards are 1.5-point underdogs at BetMGM, and New England is taking a solid lean on the spread. Bettors also are big on Arizona receiver DeAndre Hopkins to score a touchdown. Click here for  model picks.

The Cardinals have a ton of talent but are huge disappointments at 4-8 and would need a miracle to reach the playoffs – and perhaps save the job of head coach Kliff Kingsbury. There are no odds for Arizona to miss the postseason because it's so likely, and the team is given a price of +4000 to make it. The Cardinals  would have to win out and get a ton of help along the way.

Arizona would clinch Under its preseason over/under win total of 9 with a loss. The Cards are 8-15 in their past 23 games since starting 7-0 last season (includes playoffs). Kingsbury, incidentally, was selected by the Patriots in the sixth round of 2003 NFL Draft but never took the field for a regular season game with them.

At 6-6, New England sits ninth in the AFC but has played one fewer game than all the other playoff contenders. Should the Patriots win tonight, they would move into the AFC's final wild-card spot thanks to a 2-0 record vs. the Jets (7-6) and a one-game conference record edge over the Chargers (7-6). New England, which is on a mini-bye after losing on Thursday night in Week 13 to Buffalo, is +275 to make the postseason and -360 to miss.

As of this writing, 56% of the bets and 67% of the money are on the Patriots against the spread. Bill Belichick is 187-127-10 ATS as the New England coach with Tom Brady as his quarterback and 42-40-1 ATS with all other QBs. On the moneyline, Arizona at +105 is taking 65% of the bets but only 36% of the money. For the total of 43.5, 55% of the bets and 57% of the money are on the Under.

Hopkins was suspended the first six games of the season but has returned with a bang: 49 catches for 574 yards and three scores. The two most-wagered props tonight are on Hopkins: to score the game's first touchdown at +750 and to score an anytime TD at -105. Hopkins has faced the Patriots eight times in his career and has yet to score. The third most-wagered prop is on Arizona running back James Conner Under 61.5 yards – that opened at 62.5 yards but 97% of the money is on the Under, so it dropped.

Injury-wise, the Pats have ruled out receiver Jakobi Meyers (50 catches, 593 yards, 3 TD), and running back Damien Harris (383 yards, 3 TD) is doubtful. The Cardinals have ruled out receiver Rondale Moore (41 catches, 414 yards, 1 TD), and cornerback Byron Murphy is doubtful. 

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