Kyler Murray threw three touchdown passes but was sacked four times and picked off twice.
The Arizona Cardinals were unable to win their second consecutive game. They fell behind early, struggled offensively, turned the ball over three times and then fell short at the end of the game.
Kyler Murray threw three touchdown passes and both DeAndre Hopkins and Rondale Moore had big games.
However, Murray was picked off twice in the second half and Greg Dortch muffed a punt, and those three turnovers were too much to overcome, despite have the opportunity for a game-tying drive at the end of the game.
The game ended with Murray getting sacked twice and the Cardinals lose 34-26, falling to 3-5.
The Cardinals will have 3 backups starting on the offensive line against the Vikings.
The Arizona Cardinals knew they would be playing the Minnesota Vikings without starting running back James Conner. He was ruled out of the game with a rib injury on Friday.
However, they will also be playing without starting left tackle D.J. Humphries.
They released their list of inactive players and Humphries, who has not missed a game this season, was among them. He suffered a back injury late in the Cardinals’ win over the Saints last week and was questionable to play.
They do get back kicker Matt Prater and have two kickers active for the game.
Here is the full list of inactive players for the Cardinals.
Arizona Cardinals Week 8 inactives
RB James Conner
QB Trace McSorley
CB Christian Matthew
OL Rodney Hudson
LB Dennis Gardeck
OL D.J. Humphries
OL Max Garcia
With no Humphries, Josh Jones will likely get his first-ever start at left tackle. He played very well there in the preseason. He will be joined by Cody Ford at left guard and Billy Price at center. Will Hernandez and Kelvin Beachum will remain at right guard and right tackle.
Eno Benjamin will get the start at running back for the third straight game.
Prater will see action on field goals and extra points. Rodrigo Blankenship will handle kickoffs.
Anderson won’t have a large role on Sunday against the Vikings but hopefully he can make an impact.
The Arizona Cardinals acquired receiver Robbie Anderson in the hopes that it could bolster some of the production in the passing game. Marquise Brown is out for a few weeks and A.J. Green’s production has been almost nothing.
Anderson brings length at 6-3 and high-end speed.
He is still being integrated into the offense, but quarterback Kyler Murray can’t wait to see what Anderson adds.
“I’m excited for him,” he told reporters Wednesday after practice. “This is his second week. I can tell him he’s more comfortable talking, more and more vocal. Obviously, he’s got the ability, but we’ve got to build a rapport together, and we’ll do that with time. But yes, I’m excited to see him on the field more.”
He played 12 offensive snaps in the Cardinals’ win over the New Orleans Saints last Thursday and was targeted once without a reception.
Kliff Kingsbury doesn’t anticipate much more in terms of role this week because he is only in his second week. But he wants Anderson to be able to perform well in that limited role.
“I wouldn’t say much bigger,” Kingsbury said when asked about an increased role for Anderson. “We’re going to try and make sure whatever we have him doing, he feels confident and can execute at a high level, so we’ll see how the week goes.”
Right now, he would be the fourth receiver on the depth chart behind DeAndre Hopkins, Rondale Moore and Greg Dortch.
Lawrence will be out at least a month with his shoulder injury and might be done for the season if he needs surgery.
The Arizona Cardinals announced a pair of roster moves on Wednesday. Defensive tackle Rashard Lawrence, who injured his shoulder in Thursday’s 42-34 win over the New Orleans Saints, was placed on injured reserve.
To replace him on the roster, the team signed kicker Rodrigo Blankenship from the practice squad to the active roster.
Lawrence will miss at least the next four games. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury said Wednesday his shoulder could need surgery but they won’t know right away if he can return or if his season will be over.
“It’s going to be a wait-and-see,” he said. “I’d say it’s a month before we’ll know anything — whether we can rehab it and play or just go to IR.”
It is the third time in three NFL seasons Lawrence has landed on IR.
Blankenship’s addition to the active roster suggests the Cardinals plan on using him for a second straight game. Kingsbury said that Matt Prater could return to kick field goals but Blankenship would at least be used for kickoffs.
The Cardinals are underdogs on the road this week against the Vikings after being favored in two straight games.
The Arizona Cardinals, after being the underdog for each of the first five games of the season, were favored in their last two games against the Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints. In Week 8, as they prepare to take on the Minnesota Vikings on the road, they go back to being the underdog.
Cardinals vs. Vikings Week 8 betting odds and lines
Moneyline:
Cardinals +160 (Bet $100 to win $160)
Vikings -200 (Bet $200 to win $100)
At +160, the Cardinals have 38.46% implied odds of winning the game in Minnesota outright.
At -200, the Vikings have 66.7% implied odds or 1/2 fractional odds of beating the Cardinals.
The Cardinals are 3-4 and the Vikings are 5-1.
Against the spread (ATS)
Cardinals +3.5 (-105)
Vikings -3.5 (-115)
An ATS wager of $105 on the Cardinals will win $100 if they beat the Vikings outright, tie with them or lose by no more than three points.
A $115 ATS bet on Minnesota wins 4100 if the Vikings beat the Cardinals by at least four points.
The Cardinals are 4-3 ATS this season while the Vikings are 2-4 ATS.
Total (Over/Under)
Over 48.5 (-115)
Under 48.5 (-105)
If you bet the Over, a $115 wager wins $100 if the teams combine for at least 49 points.
A $105 bet on the Under wins $100 if they combine for no more than 48 points.
The Cardinals are 2-4-1 O/U and the Vikings are 3-3 O/U.
Cardinals vs. Vikings head-to-head history
The Vikings are 17-12 against the Cardinals all-time — 15-12 in the regular season and 2-0 in the postseason.
The Vikings have won 10 straight home matchups against the Cardinals. the Last time the Cardinals in Minnesota, they were the St. Louis Cardinals in 1977.
Arizona beat the Vikings 34-33 last season when Minnesota kicker Greg Joseph missed a field goal as time expired that would have won the game.
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray is 1-0 in his career against the Vikings.
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins is 2-3 in five career starts against the Cardinals.
The Cardinals are coming off the mini-bye and the Vikings have their bye week in Week 7.
The Arizona Cardinals’ next opponents are the Minnesota Vikings. Since the Cardinals played Thursday night, they have the weekend off. Normally, this would mean that fans could pay attention to the game involving the team’s next opponent.
That can’t happen this week because the Vikings are not playing. They are on their bye week.
The Vikings, who will be at home against the Cardinals next Sunday, will have had an extra week to rest and prepare.
The Cardinals, though, because of their Thursday night game, will also be more rested than normal. And the coaching staff likely will have started early on game planning for the Vikings.
It will be the Cardinals’ first early game of the season. They have not had a 1 p.m. ET kickoff yet. That will change this next week.
The Vikings are 5-1, leading the NFC North.
The Cardinals are 3-4.
Next Sunday should be a nice game between two rested, prepared teams.
Conner misses his second straight game with a rib injury. Eno Benjamin will start. Check out all the inactives for Arizona Thursday night.
The Arizona Cardinals will face the New Orleans Saints at home Thursday night without starting running back James Conner. He misses his second straight game with a rib injury. He was officially questionable to play on the final injury report.
He is among the Cardinals’ inactive players for their game against the Saints.
Also inactive is kicker Matt Prater, missing his third consecutive game with a right hip injury. Rodrigo Blankenship, signed to the practice squad this week and elevated Thursday afternoon to the active roster, makes kick Arizona kicking debut in his place.
Starting center Rodney Hudson, hampered by a knee injury, will also miss the game is inactive.
Cardinals’ Week 7 inactive list vs. Saints
RB James Conner
K Matt Prater
RB Darrel Williams
CB Trayvon Mullen
OL Rodney Hudson
LB Dennis Gardeck
OL Lecitus Smith
Williams misses his second game with a knee injury. The running game will be led b Eno Benjamin again with rookie Keaontay Ingram getting some playing time.
Sean Harlow will start for Hudson at center and either Max Garcia or Cody Ford, recently reinstated to the active roster from injured reserve, will replace Justin Pugh, whose season ended with a torn ACL, at left guard.
With Gardeck out with an ankle injury, we can expect more playing time for young pass rushers Victor Dimukeje, Myjai Sanders and Cameron Thomas.
Safety Jalen Thompson, questionable to play with a hamstring injury, is active and will be in the starting lineup.
The Cardinals announced roster moves before their Thursday night game against the Saints.
The Arizona Cardinals made some late roster moves Thursday afternoon to get ready for their Thursday night game against the New Orleans Saints. They placed two players on injured reserve, reinstated one player to the active roster and elevated two from the practice squad to be able to play.
Check out the details of the Cardinals’ first injury report of the week.
The Arizona Cardinals did not hold a full practice Wednesday as they prepare to take on the Seattle Seahawks Sunday afternoon. Instead, they held a walkthrough, but they still released an injury report showing participation.
Five players were listed as non-participants and another six were listed as having limited participation.
The Arizona Cardinals had a tough loss to the Philadelphia Eagles after being in a position to send the game to overtime. Who is to blame for the mistakes down the stretch?
In this edition of the podcast with Revenge of the Birds’ Seth Cox, we discuss that, as well as the positives in the win, how close we think the Cardinals are to being good and how many wins we think they can get in their next five games. Then we preview their Week 6 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks.
Enjoy the show!
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Here are the topics and timestamps for them:
(1:00) Initial reactions and the blame game
(21:39) The positives in the win
(42:49) How close are the Cardinals to being good?
(50:30) How many wins can they get in the next five games?
