Category: Cardinals

Kyler Murray has Cardinals off fast against Texans

Kyler Murray is a difference-maker for the Cardinals

What a difference a quarterback makes.

The Arizona Cardinals came into Sunday’s game at the Houston Texans off a win over the Atlanta Falcons.

That could be attributed to the team getting Kyler Murray back as its quarterback.

And the Heisman winner from Oklahoma was at it fast against the AFC South team.

Murray went deep, deep, deep, and found a wide-open Rondale Moore for a 48-yard TD.

After the PAT, Arizona led 7-0.

The ugliest winning seasons in NFL history

The 2023 Steelers have an ugly winning season, but it’s not the worst winning season in pro football history. Not even close.

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Folks, the Pittsburgh Steelers just keep winning ugly. In their 23-19 Sunday win over the Green Bay Packers, Mike Tomlin’s team continued its streak of being outgained by every single one of its opponents. This time, the Packers gained 399 net yards to Pittsburgh’s 324. The Steelers are now the only professional football team since at least 1933 to be outgained in every game and still have a winning record.

Impressive? In a perverse way, yes.

Despite this lack of offensive firepower, and a point differential of -26, the Steelers stand at 6-3 on the season, which got us thinking — what are the worst winning seasons in NFL history? Those seasons in which you think to yourself, “There’s no WAY these guys can be winning,” but they are anyway?

As it turns out, the Steelers are nowhere near the worst winning teams in these categories. But it is notable that in all three seasons of Matt Canada’s tenure as the Steelers’ offensive coordinator, the Steelers are either on this list, or in the discussion.

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Previewing Week 11’s biggest NFL matchups

Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar get into Week 11’s biggest NFL matchups in this week’s “Xs and Os.”

It’s time for Week 11 of the NFL season, and as always, Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup, and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire and the USA Today Sports Media Group, get you ready with tons of tape study and advanced metrics.

This week, Greg and Doug get deep into these games:

Bengals at Ravens — Why the Ravens could be ready to give Cincinnati’s run defense a very bad time.

Cardinals at Texans — We’ve all talked about C.J. Stroud, and rightly so, but this Texans team is very good in all areas.

Vikings at Broncos — Why Vikings DC Brian Flores is making life tough for opposing quarterbacks with creative pressures, the amazing stuff Josh Dobbs is doing, and the reasons behind Denver’s drastic defensive improvement over the last five weeks.

49ers at Buccaneers — The addition of Chase Young to the 49ers defense has DC Steve Wilks and his staff doing new and interesting things!

Eagles at Chiefs — Steve Spagnuolo’s defense might be the NFL’s ideal right now, and here’s why.

Greg and Doug also take a deep dive on the best way for the Buffalo Bills to design the right kind of offense for Josh Allen.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar” right here:

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You can also subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Kyler Murray leads Cardinals to last-second comeback victory over Falcons

Kyler Murray had an exciting game as the Cardinals downed the Falcons

All the Arizona Cardinals needed to get back in the win column was the return of Kyler Murray.

The quarterback led a comeback against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday that resulted in a 25-23 victory for Arizona.

The difference was a 23-yard field goal by Matt Prater as time expired.

Murray passed for 240 yards and rushed for another 33 as he came back to the Cardinals following knee surgery last season.

2024 NFL Mock Draft: Bears rule the roost with two top-five picks

In this two-round 2024 NFL mock draft, the Chicago Bears continue with Justin Fields as their quarterback, and start to build around him with the first and fifth picks.

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The Chicago Bears’ 16-13 win over the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night was a double victory for the Monsters of the Midway. Not only did they “up” their record to 3-7 on the season, but the first-round Panthers pick, owned by the Bears as part of the trade to select Bryce Young with the first pick in the 2023 NFL draft, is now the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, because the Panthers are 1-8.

That puts forth an interesting question for the Bears, and whoever’s in charge of their personnel in 2024, whether it’s current general manager Ryan Poles, or somebody else: Are they happy enough with the development of quarterback Justin Fields (when he’s healthy) to avoid taking one of the two rock star quarterbacks — USC’s Caleb Williams of North Carolina’s Drake Maye — with that first pick? Chicago also has its own fifth overall pick as a result of its own dismal record, so it’s either hold onto Fields and build around him, or punt to a new guy.

In this mock draft, the Bears do show faith in Fields, giving him a possibly “generational” receiver in Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. with the first pick, and a potential franchise edge-rusher in UCLA’s Laiatu Latu.

For the rest of the picks in this two-round mock, read below.

Who is Arizona Cardinals starting QB Clayton Tune?

Clayton Tune gets the start for the Cardinals against the Browns

Joshua Dobbs is off to Minnesota. Kyler Murray isn’t quite ready. So, the Arizona Cardinals have decided to start Clayton Tune on Sunday against the fierce Cleveland Browns defense.

We can help you name who Tune is in six facts:

  • He played college football at the University of Houston and was a three-year captain.
  • In 2022, Tune was the Manning Academy Air-It-Out winner.
  • Tune threw for 11,994 yards and 104 touchdowns as a Cougar.
  • He was selected in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL draft.
  • Tune has completed his lone NFL pass for 4 yards.
  • His great-great uncle was Jimmy Lawrence, the fifth pick in the 1936 NFL draft.

Twitter reacts to the Vikings’ trade for Cardinals QB Josh Dobbs

Here is a look at Twitter’s reaction to the Minnesota Vikings trade for Arizona Cardinals QB Josh Dobbs.

The Minnesota Vikings needed a quarterback. Kirk Cousins’ Achilles injury made them the most convincing team to buy at the trade deadline.

The Vikings did what must be done, and shopped with the Arizona Cardinals for quarterback Josh Dobbs. The former Pittsburgh Steelers 2017 fourth-round pick is on his seventh different team. Dobbs’ lone win of 2023 is from Week 3 when the Cardinals beat the Dallas 28-16 at home. With Arizona, Dobbs went 167 for 266 with 1,569 passing yards, eight touchdowns, and five interceptions. On the ground, the 28-year-old carried 47 times for 258 yards and three touchdowns.

Twitter did not hesitate to provide reactions to the trade. Here is a sampling.

Vikings grab Cardinals QB Josh Dobbs in trade. Grade: B

The Vikings scored with the Josh Dobbs trade… but it’s important to know what Kirk Cousins’ replacement is… and what he isn’t.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins was playing about as well as he has in his career before he suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon against the Green Bay Packers last Sunday.

That’s obviously a major blow for the team, and for head coach Kevin O’Connell, whose offense was a perfect structure for Cousins. On Tuesday, the Vikings traded a sixth-round pick to the Arizona Cardinals for quarterback Josh Dobbs and a seventh-round pick that could become a conditional sixth-round pick.

A 2017 fourth-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers out of Tennessee, Dobbs is now on his seventh NFL team, He was traded from the Cleveland Browns to the Cardinals just before the 2023 season, and with Kyler Murray’s injury situation, he became Arizona’s starting quarterback pretty quickly.

This season, Dobbs has completed 167 of 266 passes for 1,569 yards, eight touchdowns, five interceptions, and a passer rating of 81.2. He’s completed 11 of 30 passes of 20 or more air yards for 328 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and passer rating of 100.4.

That’s great, and it shows up on tape. On this 33-yard pass to receiver Michael Wilson against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 4, Dobbs did a great job of complementing Wilson’s vertical double move with a great throw.

Where things get interesting for Dobbs is in the intermediate level of a defense — all five lf his interceptions this season have come on throws of 10-19 air yards. If the Vikings are looking for a “conservator” quarterback, they seem to be getting more of a potential big-play machine both with his arm and as a runner. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, as they say, but O’Connell and his staff will have to rein a few things in. This interception against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8 was especially egregious — and one of two picks he threw in the game.

The Vikings probably scored in a big way here, getting a quarterback for a low-ball deal who should be able to help keep them postseason-relevant. It’s just important to know what Dobbs is at this point in his career, and what he isn’t.

Seahawks rookie CB Devon Witherspoon continues to lay the boom on opponents

Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon continues to make his case for Defensive Rookie of the Year with some major stick hits.

Illinois cornerback Devon Witherspoon was my CB1 in this draft class for a host of reasons, but his play demeanor was certainly one of them. At 5-foot-11 and 181 pounds, Witherspoon has no issue whatsoever throwing his body around and making opponents feel it. In that regard, he’s a real throwback to Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, and Kam Chancellor — the Legion of Boom DBs who loved to clean you clock on the field, and then ask you exactly how you liked it.

Witherspoon added to his portfolio once again on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, when he just blew receiver Rondale Moore the heck up on this quick pass.

If you had watched Witherspoon’s college tape, as the guys at PFF certainly did, you would know that the rookie was just as excited about demolishing opponents during his collegiate career.

Witherspoon has also had a sack and an interception in this game that were negated by penalties on other players. He’s certainly making his case for Defensive Rookie of the Year.

The best Amazon Prime Big Deal Days deal for each NFL team

See our favorite Amazon Prime Big Deal Days deal for each of the 32 NFL teams.

The 2023 NFL season is turning its first corner. Just in time for another important time of the year: Amazon Prime Big Deal Days.

The latest rounds of deals on the site have now hit the web. Get your holiday shopping done early this year and find the perfect gift for the football fan in your life

Are you ready to celebrate Jonathan Taylor’s new contract with the Indianapolis Colts?

How about preparing for another potential deep run for your Kansas City Chiefs or Philadelphia Eagles?

Or are you ready to jump on the Miami Dolphins’ bandwagon?

Whatever the team, use Amazon Prime Big Deals Day as an excuse to gear up for the rest of the 2023 NFL season starting with our team-by-team list below: