The Colts add three players to the COVID list hours before their Week 16 game against the Cardinals.
The Arizona Cardinals appear to be catching a break in their Week 16 game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts will be missing some starters because of positive tests for COVID-19. They added three more players to their COVID reserve Saturday, including starting linebacker Darius Leonard.
Leonard, safety Khari Willis and receiver Zach Pascal were placed on the COVID list on Saturday. They already are without cornerback Rock Ya-Sin and both starting guards to the COVID list.
Willis is a starter. He has two interceptions, 1.5 sacks and 54 tackles on the season. Leonard is a four-time Pro Bowler selected again this season. He has 103 tackles, a league-leading six forced fumbles and three interceptions.
Pascal is a starter at receiver. He has 36 receptions for 369 yards and three scores this season.
The Cardinals and Colts kick off at 6:15 p.m. Arizona time at State Farm Stadium tonight.
Conner did not practice all week with a heel injury and is listed as questionable for the game. Adam Schefter reports he will play.
The Arizona Cardinals will have a full running back room tonight when they take on the Indianapolis Colts. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, running back James Conner is expected to play.
Conner has a heel injury and did not practice at all this week. He is officially questionable for the game.
Conner, who was named to the Pro Bowl this week for the second time in his career, told reporters Thursday that he hoped to play and it would be a matter of pain management.
Conner leads the Cardinals with 700 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns.
He will share the load with Chase Edmonds, who is in his second game back from injury after missing four weeks with a high ankle sprain.
Edmonds had six carries for 53 yards last week and Conner added 39 on eight carries in the Cardinals’ disappointing 30-12 loss to the Detroit Lions.
The Colts allow 109.6 rushing yards per game on 4.5 yards per attempt.
The Cardinals limited Jonathan Taylor to 84 rushing yards but they gave up a 13-0 lead to lose 28-21 in the final two minutes of the game.
The Arizona Cardinals host the Indianapolis Colts Christmas night at State Farm Stadium. It will be a tough game for them, as they must slow running back Jonathan Taylor, the league’s top rusher with 1,518 yards and 19 total touchdowns.
It should be a good game.
If it plays out like it did in a simulation of the game on Madden NFL 22, it will be a good but disappointing game for Arizona.
In the simulation, the Cardinals built a 13-0 lead but the Colts rallied and scored a touchdown with under two minutes to go to win 28-21.
The Cardinals scored on their first two possessions, first on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Kyler Murray to Antoine Wesley and then on a four-yard score to A.J. Green. The first extra point was blocked.
The Colts didn’t get on the board until their final drive of the first half. They went for it on fourth down while in field-goal range and picked up a first down. Carson Wentz threw a 16-yards touchdown pass to tight end Jack Doyle.
The Cardinals punted on their first two possessions of the second game and Wentz threw a second touchdown pass, a 12-yarder to receiver T.Y. Hilton, to take a 14-13 lead.
Then Matt Prater missed a 60-yard field goal and Taylor made it 21-13 with a seven-yard run.
The Cardinals tied the score on the next drive, as Chase Edmonds ran it in from two yards out and also ran in the two-point attempt to make it 21-21
The Colts got the ball back with over four minutes left, ran the ball on every play and Nyheim Hines scored on a seven-yard run with 1:19 left in the game.
The Cardinals ran out of time and lost 28-21.
They held Taylor to 84 yards and a touchdown on 19 rushing attempts and Wentz had only 141 passing yards, although he threw the two touchdown passes.
Markus Golden sacked Wentz twice and Budda Baker and Leki Fotu shared a third sack.
Murray had 230 passing yards, two touchdown passes and 45 rushing yards on 11 attempts. Antoine Wesley, A.J. Green and Christian Kirk all have fave catches. Green and Wesley scored. Wesley led the trio with 72 yards, Kirk had 71 and Green had 36.
Tight end Jack Doyle led the Colts with seven catches for 52 yards and a touchdown.
These Cardinals players will need to be impactful for the Cardinals to pick up their 11th win of the year.
The Arizona Cardinals face a critical game Saturday evening on Christmas night against the Indianapolis Colts. They need a win to clinch a postseason berth for the first time since 2015. They need a win to end a two-game losing streak and to avoid losing the division lead.
The Cardinals will face the Colts without out their starting center and both starting guards.
The Indianapolis Colts have suffered another loss on the offensive line as they get ready to take on the Arizona Cardinals on Christmas Day. Already without starting center Ryan Kelly and starting right guard Mark Glowinski, they will now be without All-Pro starting left guard Quenton Nelson.
Nelson was placed on the COVID list Friday. Earlier in the week, he missed some practice with an illness.
Kelly is out for personal reasons, as his family mourns the death of their unborn daughter. Glowinski was added to the COVID list Thursday. With Nelson now out as well, it means the Colts will play without their entire starting interior offensive line.
Danny Pinter, who has started the last two weeks for the Colts, will start again against the Cardinals. Colts Wire managing editor Kevin Hickey explains he is a strong run blocker. Chris Reed and Will Fries are listed as the backup guards on the team’s depth chart.
It is a big opportunity for the Cardinals’ defensive line to step up. Zach Allen and the others have the chance to control the point of attack.
Of course, the Cardinals are already going to be playing without two of their top defensive linemen. J.J. Watt is on injured reserve and Jordan Phillips was ruled out this weekend.
The Cardinals and Colts kick off at 6:15 p.m. Arizona time at State Farm Stadium.
This is what the Cardinals must do on Christmas night to improve to 11-4 and clinch a spot in the postseason.
After laying an egg against Detroit this past Sunday, Arizona has now lost consecutive games. In just two weeks, they have dropped from the first seed to fourth and lost a two-game lead in the NFC West. The Cardinals are now tied with the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West for the division lead. While they hold the tiebreaker against the Rams, they can not afford to lose any more games.
The Cardinals need a quality win from a quality opponent. This Saturday, on Christmas Day, they will host the resurgent 8-6 Indianapolis Colts.
Arizona needs a win against a playoff-bound squad, in the worst way, not to prove something to fans, national media, or prognosticators, but because they need to prove to themselves they can still beat a quality opponent. The Cardinals have not beaten a team with a record of .500 or better since Week 6 against the Cleveland Browns.
Check out what Colts Wire managing editor Kevin Hickey has to say about the Cardinals’ Week 16 opponent.
The Arizona Cardinals’ next opponent are the Indianapolis Colts, whom they face Saturday night at State Farm Stadium. It is the first time since they face them since 2017.
The Cardinals need a win to clinch a playoff spot and remain in control of the NFC West.
The Colts need a win to keep the Tennessee Titans from clinching the division.
The Colts have won five of their last six games. The Cardinals have lost two in a row and are 3-4 after a 7-0 start.
To help us to know a little bit more about the Cardinals’ next opponent, Colts Wire managing editor Kevin Hickey takes use behind enemy lines to give us some insight.
He answered a few of my questions. Those questions and answers are below.
We take a look at the picks for this Christmas night matchup from Cards Wire, Colts Wire and AZCentral Sports.
The Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts face one another in Week 16 Christmas night at State Farm Stadium on national television. The Cardinals, who have lost two games in a row, can clinch a playoff berth with a win. They have been in that scenario each of the last two weeks.
They are 4-0 this year against the AFC and 3-0 against the AFC South.
The Colts have won five of their last six games, although they are 1-3 against the NFC and 1-2 against the NFC West.
How will this game play out? Below, we have expert picks from me, Colts Wire managing editor Kevin Hickey and AZCentral Sports’ Bob McManaman and Kent Somers from their Week 16 preview video. Two have the Cardinals winning and two have them losing.
The Colts will be down two offensive line starters when they face the Cardinals on Saturday.
The Indianapolis Colts had a relatively clean injury report this week but will be without some starters this weekend when they come to take on the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium Christmas night.
They released their final injury report of the week and two players have been ruled out, while another starter will miss the game due to COVID protocols.
