Take a look at the studs and duds from the Cardinals Week 7 home win against the New Orleans Saints
The Arizona Cardinals’ 42-34 win Thursday night over the New Orleans Saints was monumental in keeping their playoff hopes alive. They took care of business. While the Saints certainly are not one of the top teams in the league, the Cardinals needed to earn their first home win since last October, particularly given the injuries to the Saints team.
Arizona did just that. The final score is a bit deceptive, as this game was decided midway through the third quarter. The win gives the Cardinals some momentum, which they’ll need against the 5-1 Minnesota Vikings next week.
It was a fun one for the Cardinals and their fans last night. Let’s dive into the player performances.
The New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals will play this Thursday in a game that will keep one afloat in the NFC playoffs, while another will fall into a deep hole at 2-5.
There’s no such thing as a must-win game in Week 7 for playoff purposes, but this certainly feels like it.
Last week, the Arizona Cardinals’ offense scored three points against the league’s 31st-ranked defense in Seattle. It was a miserable showing for a team that is supposed to be one of the league’s top offenses, supplemented by the least expensive (by cap) defenses in the NFL.
Of course, Thursday marks the return of All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. He’ll surely make the team much better, but Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray must correct the mistakes of the season so far.
Take a look at what has changed with the New Orleans Saints since last season.
The New Orleans Saints were an NFC powerhouse under Sean Payton under Drew Brees for over a decade, but have failed to recapture that level of success since their departure.
Since both of their retirement, the Saints have had a number of quarterbacks play meaningful snaps for the organization. They’ve tried to continue their commitment to winning, but it ultimately hasn’t come to fruition.
They’ll look to get back on track on the road against a struggling Cardinals team that is completely shell-shocked after only managing to score three offensive points against the Seattle Seahawks.
General Manager Mickey Loomis once again did his cap gymnastics to prevent the team from having to gut their entire core. The Saints were drastically over the cap and had to make a number of moves to get back to a reasonable number.
One prominent cap casualty, or rather a free agent loss that the team was unable to re-sign was three-time Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead. Armstead was an anchor for the Saints for years, so it was tough for New Orleans to see him sign with the Dolphins.
Loomis and the front office did make an effort to remain in contention with a number of veteran free agent signings, most notably Pro-Bowl safety Tyrann Mathieu, the former Cardinals standout.
The Saints also added veterans Jarvis Landry, Marcus Maye and Andy Dalton. Dalton, who has started the past two games due to an injury to Jameis Winston, is questionable to play Thursday with a back injury.
The Saints inked quarterback Jameis Winston to a two-year, $28 million contract to lock him in as their starting quarterback this season. It was a rough start for Winston, who clearly did not look right and was eventually shut down due to a back injury.
In this year’s NFL Draft, the Saints made a bold trade up to pick No.11 to select Ohio State wide receiver Chris Olave. The former Buckeye has been fantastic to this point with 389 receiving yards in five games played.
As for departures, the Saints didn’t lose much aside from their left tackle. It truly was an offseason of additions for the Saints, many of which haven’t panned out the way they had hoped.
