The Cardinals’ 6 biggest surprises of 2019

The Cardinals had several players perform at a much higher level and have a much bigger role than probably anyone expected.

The Arizona Cardinals didn’t have a surprisingly good year in 2019. They improved to 5-10-1 and more or less finished the season where people believed they should be.

However, they did get some surprise contributions and performances from players fans didn’t expect.

Who were the biggest surprises of 2019?

OL Justin Murray

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Murray wasn’t even on the team in the offseason. He was a waiver claim after final cuts and appeared to simply be a guy they wanted for depth. After all, what could be expected from a player who had played two career games and had been cut by five different teams in a little more than three years?

He became the starter and wasn’t bad. He missed two games because of a knee injury but played 14 games and started 12.

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Studs and duds in Cardinals’ 31-24 loss to the Rams

Check out who impressed and who didn’t quite go as well as hoped.

The Arizona Cardinals lost to the Los Angeles Rams in their season finale, snapping their modest two-game winning streak. It extended their losing streak to the Rams to six games, although they played much better overall than in the previous five.

Who were the players to stand out and the players to disappoint in the loss?

Stud: TE Dan Arnold

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Arnold had a big game, making fans think that maybe he is a good answer at tight end. He had four catches for 76 yards and a touchdown. He looks promising, at least.

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Studs and duds in Cardinals’ 38-24 win over Browns

Who played well? Who should have played better?

The Arizona Cardinals played well in a 38-24 win over the Cleveland Browns. Who were the players to stand out in their play? Who came up short?

These are the studs and duds in the win.

Stud: RB Kenyan Drake

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Drake was the stud of all studs in the game, scoring four touchdowns and rushing for 137 yards. He also had a catch for nine yards as well. It has become clear the team is leaning on him now for the rest of the season.

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Studs and duds in Cardinals’ 34-7 loss to the Rams

Andy Lee was the only stud. The rest were duds.

The Arizona Cardinals lost 34-7 to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. Who were the players to stand out for good and not so good?

Check out our studs and duds from the game.

Stud: P Andy Lee

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It’s pretty bad when the punter makes this list. He punted seven times averaging 44.4 yards per kick. However, his net average was 43.6 yards, which is fantastic. Four of his punts were downed inside the 20.

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