They were snubbed from All-NFL team but were the best in the NFC.
There is more recognition for two of the Arizona Cardinals’ best players. Safety Budda Baker and DeAndre Hopkins were honored by the Pro Football Writers of America.
Both were named to the PFWA All-NFC team.
They did not make the All-NFL team, though. Buffalo’s Stefon Diggs and Green Bay’s Davante Adams made the PFWA All-NFL team at receiver, while Pittsburgh’s Minkah Fitzpatrick and Kansas City’s Tyrann Mathieu made it at safety.
Hopkins set a franchise record with 115 receptions in 2020 in his first year with the Cardinals along with 1,407 yards and six touchdowns.
His 115 receptions were tied with Adams for second in the NFL behind Diggs. Diggs also had more receiving yards and Adams led the NFL with 18 TD catches.
Baker finished the season with 118 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions. His 90-yasrd interception return against the Seattle Seahawks was the longest in the league in the regular season.
Baker makes the first team and Hopkins lands on the second team.
The Arizona Cardinals had a pair of players earn spots on the Associated Press’ All-Pro teams. The two players are no surprise.
Safety Budda Baker made the first team with former Cardinals safety Tyrann Mathieu, who now plays for the Kansas City Chiefs. Baker and Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick tied for second place in votes with 18 to earn first-team honors. He is an All-Pro for the second year in a row.
Hopkins did not make the All-Pro First Team. He was the top receiver on the second team. Green Bay’s Davante Adams, Buffalo’s Stefon Diggs and Kansas City’s Tyreek Hill made the first team.
Baker signed the richest deal in NFL history for the position earlier this season. He had 118 tackles, seven tackles for loss, two sacks, three quarterback hits, two interceptions, six pass breakups and a forced fumble.
Hopkins set a franchise record with 115 receptions to go with 1,407 yards and six touchdowns.
Three other Cardinals also received votes. Linebacker Haason Reddick received two votes as an edge rusher, while both Ezekiel Turner and Dennis Gardeck received votes on special teams. Turner got four and Gardeck one.
No one was ruled out for the Cardinals as they get ready for their game against the Rams.
The Arizona Cardinals wrapped up the week of practice on Friday as they get ready for their Week 17 win-or-go-home game against the Los Angeles Rams. No one has been ruled out of the game.
On the final injury report of the week, five players are questionable.
Safety Budda Baker (neck), running back Chase Edmonds (hip) and receiver Larry Fitzgerald (groin) did not practice on Friday. Baker was a new addition to the injury report on Thursday. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury Baker was sore but he was hopeful about his being able to play.
Neither Fitzgerald nor Edmonds got any physical reps in practice. Kingsbury said both would be game-time decisions as far as whether they could play. It would be a surprise, considering what is at stake and what questions there are about the future, if Fitzgerald misses the game. Both would be mentally prepared.
Tight ends Maxx Williams (ankle) and Darrell Daniels (hamstring) are the other two listed as questionable. Daniels got limited work on Friday for the first time but also played in a similar situation last week, while Williams was limited Thursday and Friday. Both will likely play on Sunday, although with four tight ends on the roster, their roles might be lessened to keep them from getting further injured.
The rest of the players all practiced fully. Cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick and safety Jalen Thompson should both be back in the lineup. Kirkpatrick active but did not play in Week 16 and Thompson has not played since Week 11.
Hopkins and Baker lead their positions, while Kyler Murray and others are in the top 10.
The NFL announced the results of the second cycle of Pro Bowl fan voting, giving the top five vote-getters overall and the top vote-getter at each position in each conference.
The Arizona Cardinals have two leaders and another five players in the top 10 at their positions.
The Cardinals must do some soul-searching after a crushing 17-20 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday
Sunday was an abysmal loss for the Arizona Cardinals. The Cards had the Patriots beat in almost every statistical category, but found a way to lose in the end. A big part of that loss came off the right foot of Zane Gonzalez, but the team should never have been in that position to begin with.
So, since this is overreaction Monday, what is there to overreact to?
The Cards have severely jeopardized their playoff chances with this loss. While they still hold the NFC’s seventh seed, they have allowed other teams to get within striking distance. Minnesota, Chicago and San Francisco are all 5-6. With a loss to the Rams on Sunday, they’ll likely allow one of those teams to tie.
It was a week of missed opportunities in the playoff standings. The previously first-place Rams fell to the 49ers. A win in New England would have put the Cardinals ahead of L.A. in the division. They’ll have the opportunity to do that again this Sunday, but it would have been nice to have a bit of extra breathing room.
It would be easy to overreact to the Cardinals offense. Since being nearly unstoppable since their breakout game against Dallas, the unit has sputtered in their last two games. Vance Joseph’s defense has played well enough to win in both of those contests, particularly in New England. It’s fair to wonder if there is concern with Kyler Murray’s throwing shoulder, but almost everyone has said it’s a non-factor.
Despite losing to the 49ers, the Rams have one of the best defenses in the NFL. If the Cardinals offense plays like it has recently, they’ll undoubtedly fall back down to .500 on the year. Given their 5-2 start to the year, falling to 6-6 would be very disappointing.
While the second half was a mess for the Cardinals, they still could have won the game on a Zane Gonzalez 45-yard kick. He’d miss wide right, leaving the sideline stunned. This kick marks the third clutch kick missed by Gonzalez in the past month. He had crucial missed kicks against Seattle and Miami (one of which he was bailed out by Isaiah Simmons).
There’s a chance Gonzalez is moved on from this week. A year removed from being a Pro Bowl alternate kicker, Gonzalez may find himself back as a free agent. There’s still a chance the Cards hold onto him, but the sad truth is he’s cost the team from being much higher in the playoff conversation.
There really aren’t many options in the available kicker market. Longtime Seahawk Stephen Hauschka is available at age 35. There is also Aldrick Rosas, who has gone in and out of the active lineup for the Jaguars this season following a four-week suspension. Rosas was a Pro Bowl selection in 2018.
The Cardinals now find themselves in a pivotal matchup against the division rival Rams this Sunday. There are massive implications in this one. If they win, they’ll be 7-5 and second place in the NFC West. If they lose, they’ll be 6-6 and possibly no longer in possession of a playoff spot. They’ve come up big before, particularly against Seattle and Buffalo. We’ll see if they can do it again.
Kyler Murray and the Cardinals travel to Foxborough to take on Cam Newton and Bill Belichick this Sunday.
Thursday Night Football was…disappointing.
Had they won that game, the Arizona Cardinals would have been in the driver seat to control their own destiny for the NFC West title. With the loss, they are a win behind both the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks.
In the span of eight days, the NFC West had three different first-place holders. The Cardinals held that spot after beating Buffalo and following Seattle’s loss to the Rams. After Thursday Night Football, the Seahawks held first, but lost is upon L.A.’s victory over the Bucs on MNF.
The point here, is the NFC West is still up for grabs. Yes, the Seahawks have an incredibly easy schedule, so they will require at least one loss for the Cards to take their place
Arizona must focus on themselves this Sunday as they go up against one of the greatest coaches in NFL history, Bill Belichick.
Hopkins has received the fifth-most votes in the entire league, while Baker leads all safeties in the NFC and NFL.
The Arizona Cardinals have a pair of players who get national recognition from fans. The NFL just released the first results of Pro Bowl voting. Receiver DeAndre Hopkins and safety Budda Baker made the list.
Hopkins is one of the top vote-getters in the entire NFL and also leads his position. He has received the fifth-most Pro Bowl votes in the NFL with 127,039 votes.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes leads all players with 143,355 total votes.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (139,839), Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook (131,875) and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (127,868) are second, third and fourth, respectively.
Hopkins naturally leads all NFC receivers in Pro Bowl votes.
Baker is the top NFC safety vote-getter with 95,234. He has more than 24,000 more votes than Kansas City Chiefs and former Cardinals safety Tyrann Mathieu, whose 70,941 votes lead his position group in the AFC.
Hopkins getting national love is no surprise. Baker is great to see.
What has been the key? He signed a record-setting contract, which catches the attention of everyone. Then he had two consecutive big games on national television.
Getting a big contract and having big games in front of a national audience will get some notoriety.
Buffalo Bills, Arizona Cardinals injury report from Friday ahead of Week 10.
Here are the final Friday injury reports for the Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals ahead of their Week 10 meeting at State Farm Stadium:
Buffalo Bills (7-2)
Out
RB Taiwan Jones (hamstring)
Questionable
OL Cody Ford (ankle)
S Micah Hyde (ankle)
Will play
QB Josh Allen (shoulder)
OL Mitch Morse (concussion)
RB TJ Yeldon (back)
CB Tre’Davious White (ankle)
OL Brian Winters (knee)
OL Jon Feliciano (back)
CB Josh Norman (hamstring)
Notes:
Ford was limited on Thursday and Friday. … Hyde was a full participant on Wednesday but was added to the injured list on Thursday. … LB Del’Shawn Phillips was added to the Bills’ IR on Friday.
Arizona Cardinals (5-3)
Out
DL Leki Fotu ( ankle)
OL Justin Murray (hand)
DL Jordan Phillips (hamstring)
Questionable
RB Kenyan Drake (ankle)
S Budda Bakr (groin)
CB Dre Kirkpatrick (thigh)
S Deionte Thompson (knee)
TE Maxx Williams (ankle)
Will play
OL Lamont Gallard (illness)
QB Chris Streveler (illness)
Notes:
Drake and Kirkpatrick did not play in Week 9. … Phillips did play last week but missed the game prior with the hamstring issue … While Baker did not practice for two-straight days, Cards DC Vance Joseph says he expected him to play vs. Bills.
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said Baker is improving daily.
The Arizona Cardinals have had a lengthy injury report so far this week as they prepare for the Buffalo Bills in Week 10. One notable player on the injury report has been safety Budda Baker, who missed practice both on Wednesday and on Thursday, listed with a groin injury.
With only one day of practice remaining, there appears to be some doubt about his availability for the game.
However, he should be good to go, according to defensive coordinator Vance Joseph.
“So far, it looks good for Budda,” Joseph told reporters on Thursday. “He’s getting better and better every day. I expect Budda to play.”
If he is able to go, it would give the Cardinals their full starting secondary for the first time since the season opener. Baker and Jalen Thompson both played Sunday, with Thompson playing for the first time since the second play of the season. Dre Kirkpatrick and Byron Murphy missed Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins. Murphy was out after contracting COVID-19 and Kirkpatrick had a thigh injury. Murphy is back and Kirkpatrick has gotten limited work all week so far.
Against a loaded Buffalo Bills passing attack, the Cardinals will need all the help they can get. Hopefully Joseph is right when he says Baker should play. He also said Kirkpatrick should be fine to play last week, but he did not end up playing.
Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams play host to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. The media got around to asking the coach what he thought about the incredible play a while back that saw the Seahawks’ DK Metcalf run down the Arizona Cardinals’ Budda …
Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams play host to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. The media got around to asking the coach what he thought about the incredible play a while back that saw the Seahawks’ DK Metcalf run down the Arizona Cardinals’ Budda Baker as he headed toward the zone after picking off Russell Wilson.
It sounds like McVay was impressed.
Sean McVay was asked if he saw WR DK Metcalf chase down S Budda Baker earlier this season. His response was pretty classic. pic.twitter.com/CLiuYs6I4m
