Eleven of the Cardinals’ 53 players on the active roster are rookies to start the season.
The Arizona Cardinals are preparing for their season opener on the road against the Washington Commanders. They have a vastly different roster. It is quite young.
In fact, of the 53 players on the roster, 11 are rookies. They have seven of their nine draft picks on the 53-man roster (with one on season-ending injured reserve and one on NFI for not). One of their own undrafted rookies made the team. They added three rookies, including two undrafted rookies, to the roster after final cuts via waivers.
Kingsbury: “I have all the faith in the world in Zane. We weren’t able to convert that field goal, but he’s done a tremendous job for us, and that’s football.”
In the final two minutes of the Arizona Cardinals’ 34-31 loss to the Miami Dolphins, they had the opportunity to tie the game and potentially force overtime. However, Zane Gonzalez was short on the 49-yard kick and the Cardinals were unable to get the ball back.
It was the second straight game in which he missed a critical kick. He missed a field goal in overtime against the Seattle Seahawks, but was able to redeem himself and make the game-winner after the defense got the ball back.
That doesn’t appear to change the Cardinals’ commitment to Gonzalez.
Appearing on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM on Monday, when head coach Kliff Kingsbury was specifically asked if the team remains committed to Gonzalez, he simply said, “We are.”
Kingsbury doesn’t really regret the move to kick the field goal.
“I wish we could have converted on the third down previously, but when we didn’t and it was fourth down, I have all the faith in the world in Zane,” he said. “We weren’t able to convert that field goal, but he’s done a tremendous job for us, and that’s football.”
The Cardinals do have veteran kicker Mike Nugent on the practice squad but it doesn’t appear they have any plans of making a change any time soon.
A new edition of the podcast has dropped and focused on the Arizona Cardinals’ loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 9. In this episode, Revenge of the Birds’ Seth Cox and I discuss how frustrating the loss was, what went wrong, the blossoming play of Kyler Murray, the impact of the Cardinals’ new players and those coming back from injury and then look ahead to their Week 10 matchup Buffalo Bills.
Enjoy the show, make sure to subscribe to it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite platform, and make sure to give it a five-star rating.
Here are the topics and approximate timestamps.
(1:30) The frustration in the loss
(10:15) What went wrong in the loss
(32:25) Kyler Murray and Tua Tagovailoa
(46:10) The impact of the Cardinals’ new players and returners from injuries
(53:53) Previewing the Cardinals’ Week 10 matchup against the Bills and whether or not they are in trouble
Isaiah Simmons played a season-high 32 snaps against the Dolphins.
In their 34-31 Week 9 loss to the Miami Dolphins, the Arizona Cardinals played 61 defensive snaps. How was that playing time divided up and what could it mean? Below we give the numbers for each position group and player, and discuss what significance there was.
See how the 69 offensive snaps were divided up against the Dolphins.
In their 34-31 Week 9 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, the Arizona Cardinals played 69 offensive snaps. Below we go over the playing time for each position and what we can take away from that information.
The Cardinals lost a heartbreaker to the Miami Dolphins. Given the strength of schedule moving forward, they cannot falter and must rebound.
Going into Sunday, the Arizona Cardinals knew they were facing a difficult three-game stretch. Miami, Buffalo and Seattle are all in the thick of their own playoff races, while the Cardinals try to make it there themselves.
Personally, I maintained the Cards needed to go 2-1 during this stretch at a minimum. The rest of the schedule eases up from there, but two wins appear necessary to take over first place in the NFC West.
The Cardinals already used up their loss in Sunday’s fall to Miami. It was disappointing, given another missed kick by Zane Gonzalez and the poor defensive effort.
Everything went right for Arizona last week. The Seahawks and 49ers both lost and the Saints beat the Buccaneers. Had the Cards beat the Dolphins, they would now be first place in the NFC West and possibly in the NFC as a whole.
On a positive note, Kyler Murray was unstoppable. Miami has the No. 1 scoring defense and is among one of the league’s best. The Cards under Murray only punted once — when Andy Isabella went backward instead of staying at the sticks. Sunday proved the Cardinals offense is as good as any and can compete against the best defenses.
On defense, it was a mess all day. There’s no reason to panic — yet. The Cards were down to their fifth-string cornerbacks opposite Patrick Peterson, and they were picked on all day. Vance Joseph’s defense sorely missed Byron Murphy (COVID) and Dre Kirkpatrick (thigh). Things should go a bit better upon their return.
DUD: Cardinals CBs, who were flagged for 4 DPI penalties and broke up as many passes on Sunday as you or I did. https://t.co/yWz3tGrOKI
It is also worth noting that if Zane Gonzalez continues to struggle, he could be released by the team. Had Isaiah Simmons not bailed him out against Seattle, the Cards would be looking at potential back-to-back losses due to a missed kick. The team has veteran Mike Nugent on the roster, while other options are out there like Stephen Hauschka.
Looking ahead, the Bills and Seahawks are obviously very tough matchups. The Bills just throttled Seattle and appear to be a better team than the Dolphins, who just beat the Cardinals.
If Murphy and Kirkpatrick return for the Cards, we should see a much different defense. Still, the Bills offense featuring Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs and John Brown will pose plenty of challenges.
The Seahawks, of course, nearly beat the Cardinals a few weeks ago. Still, an opportunity presents itself again. Regardless if the Seahawks win this week or not, they would lose their first place spot in the NFC West if they lose to the Cards again.
At 5-3. the Cards are far from panicking. A statement victory over the Bills this weekend could change their fortunes moving forward.
There were many plays made, but not quite enough for the Cardinals to win their fourth straight game.
The Arizona Cardinals came off the bye with a disappointing loss at home, falling 34-31 to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. It was a game they felt they should have won. They lost an opportunity to take over first place in the NFC West and win their fourth straight game.
The Arizona Cardinals and Miami Dolphins provided those who watched the game a very entertaining contest between two young quarterbacks. The final was a 34-31 win by Miami but there were plenty of highlights.
Whether it was the fumble the Dolphins returned for a touchdown for the first points of the game or any of Kyle Murray’s four total touchdowns, there was no shortage of big plays.
Check out all the highlights from the game in the above video.
The Arizona Cardinals and Miami Dolphins kick off at 2:25 p.m. Arizona time at State Farm Stadium with the roof open in front of a little more than 4,000 fans. Both teams seek their fourth straight win.
The Cardinals have the No. 1 offense in the league while the Dolphins currently sport the league’s No. 1 scoring defense.
How will this game go down?
Below we will give updates during the game for injuries, big plays and scores.
