Category: Cardinals vs. Packers

What exactly are the Cardinals?

Listen to Jess Root and Seth Cox talk about the Cardinals after their loss to the Packers in the new edition of the podcast.

The Arizona Cardinals have been frustratingly inconsistent over the last three games. They were blown out by the Washington Commanders 42-14, then beat the San Francisco 49ers, shutting them out in the second half. Then they were steamrolled by the Green Bay Packers 34-13 on Sunday.

In this edition of the podcast, cohost Seth Cox and I talked about the game against the Packers. We react to how frustrating they have been. We discuss the offensive and defensive performances and look at whether or not they should be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline and go over their injuries.

Enjoy the show with the embedded player above or by subscribing to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or your favorite podcast platform, so you never miss a show. Make sure as well to give it a five-star rating!

Times and topics

(1:00) General reaction to the loss and how inconsistent the Cardinals have been

(12:45) The offensive performance against the Packers

(23:54) The defensive performance against the Packers

(31:32) Injuries, odds and ends, buyers or sellers

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Charting Cardinals’ penalties against Green Bay can make you dizzy

The Cardinals entered Week 6 having been penalized 19 times. They had 13 against the Packers.

Did head coach Jonathan Gannon foreshadow what would happen in Lambeau Field Sunday when the Arizona Cardinals were drummed by the Green Bay Packers, 34-13?

You be the judge.

When asked this past week about the team leading the NFL with the fewest penalties after five weeks (19) and for only 200 yards (eighth-best), Gannon said, “It’s going good right now. It has to stay consistent, but if we get flagged a bunch in Green Bay, hopefully you can overcome it. Hopefully that doesn’t happen, but you’ve got to be able to overcome some of those too at times.”

That might be true if the penalties were slightly more than the 3.8 per game and 40 yards per game they averaged entering Sunday’s game.

The previous totals were 5-31 vs. Buffalo, 5-52 vs. the Rams, 4-30 vs. Detroit, 4-82 vs. Washington with 47 on a pass interference penalty and 1-5 against the 49ers.

However, against the Packers, they came in waves, making it virtually impossible to overcome. For the day, there were 13 penalties assessed for 100 yards and another three for 30 yards were declined or offset. There had been none of those in the first five games.

There were 6-40 assessed on the offense, 6-45 on defense and 1-for-15 on special teams. What appeared to be an apparently brutal horse-collar tackle on DeeJay Dallas on a fumbled punt return was offset by a Packers holding penalty. On defense, a holding penalty was declined and one for too many players on the field was offset.

There were three neutral-zone violations on defense and three holding penalties on offense. Eleven different players were called for penalties. That’s 22.9 percent of the game-day roster of 48 players and one, quarterback Clayton Tune, didn’t play.

Said Gannon, “They got us a couple of times with the snap count, which that can’t happen. We have to do better there. They call what they call. We will look at those and they will be teaching moments for us. We haven’t had a lot up until this point, but there obviously was a breakdown of what we are doing. So we have to play with better technique and make better decisions, and focus a little bit better.

Gannon called the pre-snap penalties “non-negotiable” and added, “Uncharacteristic of us so that’s why we have to look at why those things happened and do a better job there. Bang-bang plays happen, (but) you don’t want to go backwards before the ball is snapped.”

Quarterback Kyler Murray also used the words non-negotiable and uncharacteristic to describe the forgettable afternoon.

“Sloppy. Turnovers, penalties. Miscommunication,” he said. “In order to beat a good team … we play like that, we won’t beat anybody. We can’t shoot ourselves in the foot against a good team. We don’t usually, since JG’s been here, I haven’t felt like we’ve played a game like that where we’ve made bonehead mistake after bonehead mistake and haven’t taken care of the ball. I felt like we’ve been fairly good about taking care of the ball and today we didn’t. In the NFL, that gets you beat.”

Entering the game, the Cardinals had five total turnovers and had three against the Packers, including fumbles on two consecutive possessions, one by running back James Conner.

Murray is confident the team will bounce back and said, “Nobody’s flinching. We’re still right there in the thick of it. We’ve just got to get better every day, and I know we will. You can’t let bad plays continue to happen against a good team. It’s too hard.

“We already obviously know where we didn’t execute, but they’re fixable things. That’s the big thing; it wasn’t anything about performance or athlete on athlete. It was just mental breakdowns. My part, everybody’s part. We’ve got to be better.”

For the record, following are the guilty parties with penalties:

Offense

  • TE Elijah Higgins (first quarter), holding, 10 yards
  • LG Evan Brown (second quarter), holding, 10 yards
  • RT Kelvin Beachum, (second quarter), false start, 5 yards
  • Delay of game (third quarter), 5 yards
  • Beachum (third quarter), illegal formation, 5 yards
  • WR Zach Pascal (fourth quarter, holding, 10 yards

Defense

  • DL L.J. Collier (first quarter), neutral zone, 5 yards
  • LB Zaven Collins (first quarter), neutral zone, 5 yards
  • Collins (first quarter), neutral zone, 5 yards
  • CB Max Melton (second quarter), holding (declined)
  • CB Sean Murphy-Bunting (third quarter), holding, 5 yards
  • Murphy-Bunting (third quarter), holding, 5 yards
  • LB Krys Barnes (fourth quarter), unnecessary roughness, 15 yards
  • Too many players on the field (fourth quarter), offset

Special teams

  • S Joey Blount (first quarter), facemask, 15 yards
  • RB DeeJay Dallas (second quarter), horse-collar tackle, offset

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

Cardinals fumbled more than the football vs. Packers

The Arizona Cardinals not only had three fumbles in the loss to the Green Bay Packers, they also fumbled away first place in NFC West.

A 2-4 start to the Arizona Cardinals season has probably deflated the optimism fans carried after their Week 5 win over the San Francisco 49ers. In their 34-13 loss on Sunday to the Green Bay Packers, the Cardinals not only had three fumbles, they also fumbled away a chance to take the NFC West lead. Had they won the game, their 3-3 mark and 2-0 division record would have had them in first place.

Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing could not find a decent play call in the first half. It wasn’t until the Packers had accomplished a 24-0 lead that the Cardinals had a drive last more than five plays.


After suffering a concussion in the first half of the loss, hopefully wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. can recalibrate and participate in Week 7. Offensively, the Cardinals need to take a deep look into the mirror and conjure up a healthy amount of honor. The 2024 season is slipping right out of the hands of the Cardinals and they were never in the slightest bit competitive today.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

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Cardinals postgame injury updates following 34-13 loss to Packers

Six starters did not finish the game after suffering injuries in the Cardinals’ loss to the Packers.

The Arizona Cardinals not only lost their Week 6 game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, getting blown out 34-13, they also lost several players in the process.

They weathered a number of injuries during the game. Almost all were starters.

  • Receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. suffered a concussion in the first half.
  • Defensive lineman Bilal Nichols suffered a stinger in the first half and didn’t return.
  • Linebacker Kyzir White suffered a knee injury in the first half and did not return.
  • Left guard Evan Brown suffered an ankle injury in the second half and did not return.
  • Cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting suffered a neck injury in the second half and did not return.
  • Running back James Conner appeared to have an ankle injury or something. Nothing was announced but Trey Benson and Emari Demercado finished the game at running back.
  • Safety Joey Blount injured his hamstring but returned later in the game.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

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Packers 34, Cardinals 13: Jordan Love throws 4 TD passes in blowout win

The Cardinals were blown out in Green Bay on Sunday, struggling on both sides of the ball and turning the ball over three times.

The Arizona Cardinals were unable to win a second straight game on the road. They were blown out 34-13 by the Green Bay Packers.

They started slowly offensively, were bad defensively and turned the ball over three times. They were penalized a season-high 13 times.

Packers quarterback Jordan Love threw four touchdown passes and the Green Bay offense had 437 total yards of offense, including 172 rushing yards.

The Cardinals had 303 yards of offense but only had 89 rushing yards and had a number of players leave the game with injuries.

Here is how it went down.

1st-drive fail

The Cardinals did not score a first-drive touchdown for the first time this season. Instead, it was a three-and-out after the defense forced a Green Bay punt to start the game.

Packers 7, Cardinals 0

The Packers took advantage of a short field. After the Cardinals punted from inside their 10 and started in Arizona territory after Joey Blount was penalized for grabbing a facemask. Josh Jacobs had a 14-yard run and Jordan Love found Jayden Reed for a five-yard touchdown pass to give the Packers the lead.

Packers 14, Cardinals 0

Romeo Doubs scored a diving 10-yard touchdown pass. The drive went 80 yards after the Cardinals couldn’t quite pin their punt inside the five. Emmanuel Wilson had a 19-yard catch and Cardinals linebacker Mack Wilson got hurt.

Packers 17, Cardinals 0

The Packers converted on fourth down, passing up on a 53-yard field goal, but a pass breakup by Garrett Williams in the end zone forced a shorter kick that they made from 36 yards. The field goal came after the Cardinals went three-and-out.

Takeaway taken away by penalties

After a third three-and-out, the Cardinals punted the ball away but forced a fumble and recovered it. However, offsetting penalties nullified the fumble that Owen Pappoe recovered.

The Packers were flagged for holding but DeeJay Dallas was flagged for a horse-collar tackle.

Packers 24, Cardinals 0

After a repunt, Keisean Nixon returned it 39 yards into Arizona territory. On the very next play, Love threw a 44-yard bomb to Christian Watson for a touchdown. The rout was on.

Packers 24, Cardinals 7

The Cardinals finally put together a good drive. Murray connected with Michael Wilson for an 18-yard touchdown pass on the first play out of the two-minute warning. He had a 27-yard pass to Trey McBride on the drive.

Injuries

The Cardinals went down three players in the first half. Defensive lineman Bilal Nichols exited the game, linebacker Kyzir White injured his knee and was taken to the locker room and Marvin Harrison Jr. was taken to the locker room to be examined for a concussion.

Interception

Sean Murphy-Bunting picked off Jordan Love when Bo Melton slipped in his route with 1:04 left in the first half. The Cardinals took over at the Green Bay 45.

Packers 24, Cardinals 10

The Cardinals got a 38-yard field goal with four seconds left in the first half to cash in on the turnover and cut the deficit to 14 before the half.

Packers 24, Cardinals 13

The Cardinals scored on the first drive of the second half. Murray just missed Xavier Weaver on third down for what would have been a touchdown and Chad Ryland connected from 40 yards on a field goal to give the Cardinals three consecutive scoring drives.

Packers 31, Cardinals 13

The Cardinals couldn’t get a stop on defense and Love threw his fourth touchdown pass of the game, a 20-yard to Romeo Doubs.

James Conner stripped

The Cardinals turned the ball over two plays into the next possession as Conner was stripped and the Packers recovered at the Arizona 30.

Missed FG

The Cardinals were fortunate because after the Packers went three-and-out, they missed a 44-yard field goal, failing to cash in on the takeaway.

Another fumble

The Cardinals were threatening and Greg Dortch caught a pass, got to the 22-yard line and had the ball punched out. Jaire Alexander recovered it and the Packers took over.

And another fumble

In the red zone in the fourth quarter, the handoff to Trey Benson was fumbled and the Packers recovered.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

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First-half defense an issue again for the Cardinals

The Cardinals trailed the Packers 24-10 at halftime after allowing 266 yards and three touchdown passes.

The Cardinals trailed the Green Bay Packers 24-10 at halftime in Week 6 and it was another game in which the defense didn’t do much.

Green Bay did whatever they wanted.

The Cardinals allowed 24 points, 266 yards, 14 first downs, 37 plays and the Packers possessed the ball more than 19 minutes of the half.

They had no sacks in the first half and allowed 7.2 yards per play. The Packers converted on 3-of-6 third downs and once on fourth down.

After forcing a first-drive punt, the Packers scored on four consecutive possessions. Packers quarterback Jordan Love had three first-half touchdown passes.

Arizona showed a little life with an interception at the end of the first half, but it came when the Green Bay receiver slipped.

The Cardinals would receive the second-half kickoff. They held the 49ers scoreless in the second half in Week 5. Can they do it again?

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

Marvin Harrison Jr. ruled out vs. Packers with concussion

Harrison was taken to the locker room to be examined for a concussion in the first half of the Cardinals’ game against the Packers.

Editor’s note: This article was updated with new information

The Arizona Cardinals fell behind 24-0 in the first half of their game against the Green Bay Packers and had to deal with a number of injuries. Perhaps the most concerning was rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.

After Murray threw an incompletion to Harrison, Harrison’s helmet hit the thigh of a defender and he was a bit wobbly when he got up.

He was taken to the sideline, examined in the blue medical tent and then ruled to have a stinger. He was taken to the locker room to be examined for a concussion. He was later ruled out of the game.

In the first half before exiting, Harrison was targeted twice but did not have a catch.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

Cardinals-Packers uniforms in Week 6

What uniforms will the Cardinals and Packers wear in their Week 6 game?

What uniforms will the Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers wear at Lambeau Field in Week 6?

It should be a really nice pairing.

The Packers are wearing their traditional green-on-gold unis.

 

The Cardinals will wear their icy road all-whites.

 

Arizona and Green Bay kick off at 1 p.m. ET.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

CB Jaire Alexander, LT Rasheed Walker to play vs. Cardinals

Who was in and who was out for the Packers in Week 6 against the Cardinals?

The Green Bay Packers released their inactive list 90 minutes before they kicked off against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 6. They already ruled out their sack leader in defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt.

But they would have starting cornerback Jaire Alexander, starting left tackle Rasheed Walker and receiver Christian Watson.

All were questionable for the game but were not deactivated.

Here are the players who were inactive for Green Bay:

  • S Kitan Oladapo
  • DL Brenton Cox Jr.
  • T Andre Dillard
  • T Travis Glover T
  • E John FitzPatrick
  • DL Devonte Wyatt

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

Cardinals inactives: Matt Prater out; Chad Ryland, Xavier Weaver in vs. Packers

Who is in and who is out for the Cardinals in Week 6 against the Packers?

The Arizona Cardinals are going with a backup kicker for the second straight week. They released their inactive list 90 minutes before their game on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.

Kicker Matt Prater, questionable for the game with a left knee injury, was deactivated. That meant Chad Ryland, who made 3-of-4 field goals last week against the 49ers, including the game-winning 35-yard kick, would go again in Green Bay.

Here are the players that were inactive for the game for the Cardinals.

  • K Matt Prater
  • CB Darren Hall
  • LB Victor Dimukeje
  • LB Xavier Thomas
  • TE Travis Vokolek

Cornerback Garrett Williams returns to the lineup after a week off with a groin injury. For the second straight week, Thomas is inactive. Linebacker Jesse Luketa, who forced a key fumble last week, will get to play.

Rookie receiver Xavier Weaver is active for the first time this season and will make his NFL debut. He was the practice player of the week and wore the Pat Tillman No. 40 jersey all week in practice.

All their offensive linemen are active for this game, including Jon Gaines II, who is active for the second straight week. He made his 2024 debut last week after being the team’s practice player of the week and wearing the Tillman jersey all week leading up to the game.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

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