What pundits are predicting for Sunday’s Patriots-Cardinals game

Patriots

Sunday’s game may be the Patriots’ best chance to win after the bye, but many pundits don’t expect them to win.

COMMENT

Bill Belichick couldn’t draft for the last 10 years and the University of North Carolina thinks he’ll be really good at recruiting high schoolers to come play for him? (I was going to say, “play for the Tar Heels,” but we all know that has nothing to do with that.)

Call it a sneaking suspicion that the former Patriots coach won’t be on the sidelines for many games as the UNC head coach, a job Belichick officially accepted Thursday. For all his flaws, a six-time Lombardi champion who coaches in the same football conference as Boston College (no offense) is a dramatic fall from grace. I half expected Belichick to wear a Hitter.net hat during his introductory press conference on Thursday.

Since Belichick’s ego can’t seem to find it in him to retire or just join the Mannings every week on their cozy ESPN appearance with the king’s Hawaiian pretzel bites, he takes the only job given to him by people who are stupid enough to give him full control of the operation. There was no NFL team stupid enough to do the same. Because they’ve all seen the Patriots roster.

But sometimes teams get desperate, in this case the Dallas Cowboys and Jerry Jones, who fit Belichick’s needs to a tee. The Cowboys draft well, should be a Super Bowl contender and still have Mike McCarthy as their coach for some reason. If the staredown between Jones and Belichick is for control, it’s a path the owner is never going to surrender. But could you imagine Bill in Dallas? It would be ESPN’s next LeBron.

Belichick has no intention of staying in Chapel Hill, despite his assertion Thursday, “I didn’t come here to leave,” which was followed by a strange canned applause fit to introduce this week’s guest star on “Who’s the Boss?” Sore the details of his contractBelichick’s buyout is $10 million, but it drops to just $1 million on June 1, 2025. Then Jerry Jones gets mad and pays the $10 million, or lives through another year of McCarthy and gets Belichick for $9 million less, than he would between now and June?

Or maybe this is retirement for Bill trading ACK for UNC. He’ll get to hang out with his Lombardi-Patricia friends, and his girlfriend will finally have people her age among the players’ girlfriends. It’s just as we all imagined.

This week’s predictions:

Jeremy Cluff, Arizona Republic: Cardinals 24, Patriots 20. “The Cardinals‘ postseason chances hang in the balance. They will find a way to keep them alive for at least another week.”

Globe staff: Four of the six like Arizona (-6).

Pete Prisco, CBS Sports: Cardinals 28, Patriots 20. “The Patriots are coming off a bye to play a team that has lost three straight. Kyler Murray hasn’t played well the last three weeks, but that will change here. The Arizona offense will get back on track as it gets a win that will keep it in the playoff hunt.”

CBS Sports employees: Split (Cardinals -6).

NFL.com staff: All cards.

Jimmy Kempski, PhillyVoice: Cardinals (-5.5). “The Cardinals were favored to win the NFC West a few weeks ago, but after three straight losses, they are now just a 7 percent chance to make the playoffs, per Unpredictable. They should handle this bad Patriots team at home though.”

Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times: Cardinals 23, Patriots 20. “The Cardinals have lost three in a row after a four-game winning streak. New England’s defense is pretty tough and physical. The Cardinals have more weapons on offense.”

Vic Tafur, Athletics: Patriots. “Last week was a huge opportunity for the Cardinals to take control of the NFC West, and of course they lost big because no one can predict their struggles this season. The offensive slide might just be permanent. The Cardinals went from having an offensive overall EPA per game of 0.15 (second best) in Weeks 7 through 10 to -0.08 (27th) in Weeks 11 through 14, where their points per game dropped from 26.3 (eighth) to 15.3 (29th). Kyler Murray wasn’t great last week, but this is a throwback game against a 28th-ranked Patriots defense that can’t stop the run last week , so there’s a clear game plan here for the Patriots, too. I’m not going to pick either team, so give me the points.”

Greg Cote, Miami Herald: Cardinals 24, Patriots 21. “New England loves a bye; Zona is playing for its playoff life after three straight losses. The Cardbirds and Kyler Murray have too much on the line to let this one slip, but the steadily improving Drake Maye has helped the Pats cover in four of the last six games and see that trend continue here.”

Vinnie Iyer, The Sporting News: Cardinals 24, Patriots 20. “Jerod Mayo will prepare his team well after a bye and Drake Maye should be more confident with his passing and running. Kyler Murray is back in a strange funk as Arizona’s offense remains inconsistent. The Cardinals’ run defense can also keep the Patriots in the game until their pass defense makes the game-changing late vs. May.”

Bill Bender, Sporting News: Cardinals 20, Patriots 19. “Arizona is 4-3 S/U at home this season and looks to be on a three-game losing streak. The Patriots have been a hit-or-miss game on the road this season, but they have covered in four of their last six games. Drake Maye continues to improve with each start and that maturation will continue in another close call on the road.”

Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk: Cardinals 23, Patriots 10.

Chris Simms, Pro Football Talk: Cardinals 28, Patriots 21.

It says here: Cardinals 35, Patriots 30. The Patriots might take an improved offense with them to Arizona, but Jerod Mayo is still the coach.