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.
The Cardinals will be down a defensive starter against the Colts and could be missing James Conner and Rondale Moore.
The Arizona Cardinals released their final injury report of the week for their Week 16 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. They will be down another defensive starter and have a number of game-day decisions to make.
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph details what the Cardinals must do against Jonathan Taylor, Colts.
The Indianapolis Colts come to town this week for a Christmas night battle with the Arizona Cardinals and, because of how the Cardinals have played recently and the play of the Colts, many feel Indy will give Arizona its third consecutive loss.
In particular, it is the matchup against Colts running back Jonathan Taylor that has many believing the Cardinals won’t be able to stop him.
After all, the run defense has been their weakness this season. They are only 17th in total run defense, allowing 112.8 rushing yards per game. But they are 27th in yards allowed per carry at 4.6. They have faced the 11th-fewest rushing attempts.
Taylor leads the NFL with 1,518 rushing yards and 17 rushing touchdowns this season.
The Cardinals are prepared.
“We’ve played a bunch of good running teams all year. It won’t be any different Christmas night,” defensive coordinator Vance Joseph told reporters Wednesday.
He knows that stopping the run is their No. 1 priority defensively.
“This running game is really good,” he said. “The back (Taylor) is having a great year. When he’s playing good, they win. That’s our first issue to deal with is stop him in the run game.
“The run game is what they do well, and it’s got to get stopped.”
The Cardinals haven’t been awful all year against the run. They have had their moments.
They held Derrick Henry to only 58 total rushing yards and only nine in the first half in Week 1. They held the Cleveland Browns No.-5 rated rushing attack to 73 yards. The San Francisco 49ers are seventh in the league in rushing yards and the Cardinals held them to 39 yards in Week 9.
Joseph compares Indy’s attack to the Titans’ rushing attack, which still ranks fourth in the league even though Henry has been out since midseason.
“It’s Tennessee,” he said. “It’s a direct run game. They block and they run and they block and run.
“Stopping the run is going to be a premium this week. We have a good plan to do so but outside of the plan, we have to tackle, we have to get hats to the ball because he does break tackles and we have to be detailed in our run fits.”
We can expect them to stack the box and add an extra defender. to the front seven. Whether it is a fourth defensive lineman or a fifth linebacker, they have done that before. Most recently, they did it to the 49ers, but they chose not to rush against it, passing the ball more.
“This guy (Colts head coach Frank Reich) won’t do that. It’s going to be 35-plus handoffs. So stacking the box that’s your first move, to win with numbers. But this offensive line can move people and this back can find it.
“We need to be in our gaps with two hands free and two eyes to tackle this guy form or he falls for four and five yards.”
Joseph stressed that when it comes to the Colts, they have to win one of the runs in the series of downs. If they are getting 3-4 yards each time, they will just keep running.
“You have to get one of those downs knocked down for 1-2 yards,” he said. “If not, it’s going to be a long series for you.”
If Andy Lee is not activated from the COVID list by Saturday, Winslow will punt and serve as holder on kicks against the Colts.
The Arizona Cardinals might need a punter this Saturday against the Indianapolis Colts, as Andy Lee was placed on the COVID list Wednesday. They addressed that by signing punter Ryan Winslow to the practice squad.
Winslow punted for the Cardinals for two games in 2019 when Lee was injured.
He spent time with the Cardinals in 2019, was with the team the entire 2020 offseason and spent part of the 2021 preseason with the team as well.
He averaged 48.5 yards on six punts for the Cardinals.
The familiarity will be helpful in the kicking game as well, as he has practiced and served as the holder for extra points and field goals.
They also re-signed tight end David Wells to the practice squad.
He was on the practice squad earlier this season, was elevated to the active roster, played one snap, got hurt and landed on injured reserve. He was designated to return last week and activated on Monday before he was released. He cleared waivers and now returns to the practice squad.
The Cardinals need a win to clinch a postseason berth. There are six other ways to do it, but beating the Colts is the best way to go.
The Arizona Cardinals find themselves in a win-and-you’re-in scenario for the postseason for the third straight week. Able to clinch a playoff berth for the first time since 2015 each of the last two weeks with a win and failing to do so, they are in the same scenario in Week 16.
If they beat the Indianapolis Colts Saturday night, they lock in a postseason spot. It would be a relief for them to do it, as they are 0-4 over the last two seasons in playoff-clinching scenarios.
Last season, needing just one win over the final two games, they lost consecutive games to the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams, going against backup quarterbacks.
This season, they lost a close Monday night game to the Rams 30-23 and then were embarrassed on the road against the Detroit Lions 30-12. The Lions had only one win all season entering that game.
Now they must do it against the 8-6 Colts, who have won five of their lats six games and have the best player in the NFL right now, running back Jonathan Taylor.
It is not the only way the Cardinals can clinch a playoff spot. There are six other possible and also plausible scenarios.
Even if they lose on Saturday, they will earn a playoff birth if there is:
An Eagles loss or tie against the Giants and a 49ers loss to the Titans.
An Eagles loss or tie with the Giants and a Vikings loss or tie with the Rams (although this would give the Rams the division lead).
An Eagles loss or tie with Giants and a Saints loss or tie with the Dolphins.
A Vikings loss or tie with the Rams and a 49ers loss to the Titans.
A Vikings loss or tie with the Rams and a Saints loss or tie with Dolphins.
A Saints loss or tie with the Dolphins and a 49ers loss to the Titans.
Obviously, the way we want the Cardinals to clinch is with a win. That takes care of everything else and maintains their lead in the division, no matter what the Rams do against the Vikings.
Plus, it would help stop the ugly narrative about the Cardinals being a bad team in December.
Getting to the playoffs is the goal. But backing in is not the way the team should have done it, especially with the start of the season they had.
The Cardinals’ injury situation could lead to Greg Dortch and Danny Isidora being active on Saturday.
The Arizona Cardinals have protected four players on their practice this week for their Week 16 Christmas night matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. The players they protected likely are related to their injury situation.
This week, according to Tuesday’s NFL transaction report, they protected the following players:
WR Greg Dortch
G Danny Isidora
CB Kevin Peterson
T Eric Smith
Dortch could end up being active in place of injured receiver Rondale Moore. Dortch plays in the slot and can return kicks and punts.
Peterson gives them special teams options and depth at cornerback. They have Breon Borders on the active roster but he was inactive on Sunday.
The Cardinals don’t need depth at tackle but it would appear the Cardinals want to keep Smith around for next year.
Isidora’s protection could lead to him being elevated and active on Saturday. Starting center Rodney Hudson is on the COVID list and Max Garcia has an injured knee. It is possible that neither will be able to play. If that is the case, they could turn to backup guard Sean Harlow to start at center for the second time this season, which would make Isidora the backup guard.
After an awful 30-12 loss by the Arizona Cardinals to the Detroit Lions in Week 15, it appears they are falling apart like they did at the end of last season.
They are still in the lead in the NFC West, but the loss raises questions as to whether the Cardinals will win another game this season.
In this edition of the podcast, Revenge of the Birds’ Seth Cox and I give our level of panic regarding the Cardinals and their season. We also go over what went wrong in Detroit, where they stand in the NFC West race and preview their Week 16 Christmas game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Enjoy the show!
Enjoy the show with the embedded player above or by subscribing to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform, so you never miss a show. Make sure as well to give it a five-star rating!
Below are the approximate timestamps for the topics we discussed.
(1:00) Is it time to panic?
(12:39) What went wrong against the Lions?
(31:45) What do they have to do to win the NFC West still?
Check out Wednesday’s injury report for the Cardinals’ Week 16 opponent, the Colts.
The Indianapolis Colts returned to practice on Wednesday and released their second injury report of the week. Not much changed, although they did add a starting offensive lineman who did not practice.
The punting and kicking game could be impacted for the Cardinals in their game against the Colts if he is not activated by Saturday.
The Arizona Cardinals might need a new punter this weekend against the Indianapolis Colts. Their regular punter, Andy Lee, has tested positive for COVID-19 and has been placed on the COVID list.
He was one of 33 players around the league to test positive and land on the list.
Based on new league protocols, there is the possibility he could be activated before the game on Saturday, but that depends on the circumstances of his positive test.
Either way, the Cardinals will need to sign a punter Thursday. No punter visits or tryouts appeared on the NFL transaction list for the Cardinals.
If Lee is unable to go, it could impact both the punting and kicking game, as Lee also serves as the team’s holder for field goals.
After two days of practice, it appears James Conner and Max Garcia might not be able to play on Saturday.
The Arizona Cardinals practiced for the first time this week following a day of what head coach Kliff Kingsbury referred to as jogthroughs (a faster-paced walkthrough) and released their second injury report of the week.
There was bad news as offensive lineman Max Garcia was downgraded and they were down a starting running back for the second day in a row.
Check out the details of Wednesday’s injury report below.
