PODCAST: Who’s to blame for the Cardinals’ loss to the Texans?

Jess Root and Seth Cox break down the Cardinals’ loss to the Texans in Week 11.

The Arizona Cardinals lost to the Houston Texans on Sunday, which led to a reaction show on the podcast with me and Revenge of the Birds’ Seth Cox.

We talked about Kyler Murray’s play, where we should place the most blame for the loss, how close the Cardinals are to where they want to be and the new injuries on defense.

Enjoy the show!


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Times and topics:

(1:00) Kyler Murray’s play

(23:09) Who is to blame for the loss?

(33:53) How close are the Cardinals to what they want to be?

(46:00) More injuries

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Cardinals’ Week 11 defensive snap counts and observations vs. Texans

See how the Cardinals split up their 6 defensive snaps on Sunday against the Texans.

In the Arizona Cardinals’ 21-16 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday, the defense was on the field for 67 defensive snaps.

How was the playing time divided up?

Only two players played every snap.

Below are the individual snap counts for everyone who got on the field defensively for the Arizona, grouped by position.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

Cardinals’ Week 11 offensive snap counts and observations vs. Texans

Take a look how the Cardinals split up their 61 offensive snaps from their loss to the Texans.

In the Arizona Cardinals’ 21-16 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday, they played 61 offensive snaps.

How was the playing time divided up? Below are the individual snap counts for every player that got into the game on offense, grouped by position.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

Cardinals LB Kyzir White headed to IR with torn biceps

White played every snap of the season before his injury. He likely will not play another snap this season.

The Arizona Cardinals have suffered another bg blow to their defense. The latest is linebacker and team captain Kyzir White. Head coach Jonathan Gannon announced Monday White would be placed on injured reserve with a torn biceps.

Before the injury, he had played every defensive snap of the season. Per Darren Urban, White won’t play another snap this season.

It is the third torn biceps on defense this season. Defensive linemen L.J. Collier and Carlos Watkins also suffered torn biceps.

White actually stayed on the field a few plays with the injury.

“It was kind of gut-wrenching to watch because I didn’t know he tore his bicep and he’s out there playing with one arm,” Gannon said.

His loss means Krys Barnes will be thrust into the starting lineup. Barnes had an interception on Sunday after White exited the game.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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DL Leki Fotu might not miss time with broken hand

Fotu had a sack and four tackles on Sunday against the Texans before exiting with a hand injury.

Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Leki Fotu left the team’s 21-16 loss to the Houston Texans with an injured hand and did not return. He was immediately ruled.

Per a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, there is both good and bad news.

The bad news is that he might need surgery to repair the small broken bone in his hand.

The good news is that, even if he does need surgery, there is a chance he doesn’t have to miss any time. That presumably would mean he could play on Sunday when the Cardinals host the Los Angeles Rams.

Fotu had a nice game on Sunday before getting hurt. He had four tackles, which included a sack, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit.

On the season, in 10 games (he missed one early in the season), he has 25 total tackles, five tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and two quarterback hits.

The Cardinals’ first injury report of Week 12 will come out Wednesday afternoon.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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3 Cardinals defenders injured in loss to Texans

Linebacker Kyzir White, defensive lineman Leki Fotu and cornerback Antonio Hamilton all exited the game on Sunday with injuries.

The Arizona Cardinals lost on Sunday 21-16 to the Houston Texans. The defense struggled in the first half and then locked things down in the second. However, the defense took hits with injuries, losing three starters by the end of the game.

Linebacker Kyzir White, who had played every defensive snaps of the season for the first 10 games, left the game in the first half and did not return. IT was reported initially that it was an elbow. The television broadcast said it was his shoulder.

Later, in the second half, defensive lineman Leki Fotu, who had a sack in the first half, exited with a hand injury. He was immediately ruled out for the remainder of the game.

While making a critical fourth-quarter interception, cornerback Antonio Hamilton suffered a groin injury and had to be helped off the field.

We probably won’t know until at least Monday what the prognosis for any of them.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Defense has remarkable 2nd-half turnaround vs. Texans

After allowing 21 points and 333 yards in the first half, they held the Texans scoreless with 86 in the second half.

The Arizona Cardinals were awful defensively in the first half of their 21-16 Week 11 road loss to the Houston Texans. However, it was the play of the defense in the second half that put them in a position to have a chance to win the game.

The defense was spectacular in the second half.

In the first half, the Texans rolled up 333 yards of offense and were 6-for-7 on third down. They led 21-10.

Things were different in the second half. The Texans had only 86 second-half yards. They did not score any points. They turned the ball over twice.

However, the offense only managed six points in the second half of the game.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon said it was a mix of playcalling and execution that was the difference between the first and second halves.

But without more playmaking on offense in the second half, the defense dug the team too big a hole to overcome.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Cardinals’ 4th-down decisions might have cost them a win

Had the Cardinals kicked a field goal on an earlier fourth down, they would have been in position to kick a game-winning field goal.

The Arizona Cardinals have shown themselves to be a team willing to go for two after touchdowns and to go for it on fourth down a lot. That willingness to take risks might have cost them a win against the Houston Texans.

They lost 21-16 to Houston on Sunday and were in position to potentially get a game-winning touchdown.

However, with different decisions earlier in the game, they could have been playing for a game-winning field goal.

The Cardinals turned the ball over on downs three times in the game, including their final drive.

They went for it on fourth down at the Houston 23 rather than kicking a 41-yard field goal. They went for two after Kyler Murray’s rushing touchdown in the third quarter.

Had they picked up those four points earlier, they would have been trailing 21-20 on that final drive and, rather than having to throw the ball in desperation, they could have been setting up a game-winning kick.

Instead, it was a five-point loss.

Of course, other events would have possibly played out differently and perhaps they would have lost anyway, but had they take the points that were there initially, they are in a different situation late in the game.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Texans 21, Cardinals 16: Cardinals can’t complete comeback despite 3 C.J. Stroud INTs

The Cardinals picked off C.J. Stroud three times but could not complete the comeback.

The Arizona Cardinals did something no other team had done this season. They picked off Houston Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud three times.

They held Houston scoreless in the second half but, after falling behind 21-10 in the first half, they could not complete the comeback. Kyler Murray was picked off once and they turned the ball over three times on downs leading to a 21-16 road loss.

Below is what happened in the game.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

 

Cardinals’ defense struggles in 1st half vs. Texans

The Texans rolled up 333 yards of offense in the first half. C.J. Stroud had 259 passing yards and two touchdowns.

The Arizona Cardinals trailed the Houston Texans 21-10 at halftime. The offense got a quick score but the story of the half was how the defense struggled against C.J. Stroud and the Texans’ offense.

If it weren’t for a fourth-down stop in the red zone and an end zone interception by Jalen Thompson, the Cardinals would have been down even more than 21-10.

Stroud had 259 yards and two touchdown passes in the first half. Receiver Tank Dell had six catches for 120 yards and a score.

Devin Singletary had 84 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.

In all, Houston gained 333 total yards in the first half and went 6-for-7 on third down.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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