The Arizona Cardinals offense is broken. It has been since Dec. 13, 2021. That was the last time star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins suited up for the Cards.
Since that date, the team has struggled to find the form that allowed it to win the first seven games of 2021 and build a 10-3 record through that fateful date when Hopkins suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Arizona lost three of the next four games before losing one of the ugliest playoff games in recent memory to the Los Angeles Rams. The struggles have carried over into this season, where the Cardinals are off to a 2-4 start and Kyler Murray has yet to find the type of production that made this offense so lethal with Hopkins.
Once an explosive team sure to create a couple must-see highlights each game, the Cards are mostly forgettable now. They haven’t been fun to watch for a long time.
But Hopkins is set to return Thursday — after missing the first six games of this season due to suspension — and suddenly there’s intrigue with the Cardinals again. Is he the singular fix they desperately needed? If so, I think the Cards easily cover as home favorites over the New Orleans Saints. But, that’s a big if.
It seems silly to deduce all of Arizona’s struggles over a decent sample size of 10 regular season games and a playoff game to a single player missing, but it’s hard not to when you take a look at Murray’s stats before and after Hopkins’ injury.
Murray was more efficient with Hopkins, completing a higher percentage of his passes for more yardage and more touchdowns. Hopkins’ presence wasn’t just about his own production. It was what he did for the production of Arizona’s other receivers too.
| Kyler Murray (since 2021) | Games | YPG | Y/A | Comp % | TD | Int | Rating |
| With Hopkins | 10 | 278 | 8.69 | 72% | 19 | 9 | 106 |
| Without Hopkins | 10 | 247 | 5.98 | 65% | 11 | 5 | 84.9 |
In the playoff loss, Murray passed for just 137 yards on 4.03 yards per attempt, with zero touchdowns, two interceptions and a 56% completion percentage.
The Cardinals offense has missed Hopkins. It’s clear. So I won’t dismiss his return as potentially having a big impact. I’m just not expecting it to happen as swift as the decline was — even as the Saints have been torched the last two weeks, allowing more than 240 yards and three touchdowns through the air in each of their last two games.
More likely, Hopkins eases back into things Thursday and Arizona gets better with each passing week.
Prince’s Pick: Saints win 23-20
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