Cardinals-Giants preview: A must-win for playoff hopes

The Arizona Cardinals must decide this Sunday if they are fit to make the 2020 postseason against the New York Giants.

The Arizona Cardinals have experienced quite the downfall in recent weeks compared to their October trajectory. With starts of 5-2 and 6-3, a 6-6 record in December is concerning.

DeAndre Hopkins isn’t getting the ball. His route trees of quick outs, slants, and bubbles to one side of the field have gone viral and lead to criticism of Kliff Kingsbury’s play-calling.

Defenses have committed everything to stopping Kyler Murray, and the lack of help from some teammates has made that gameplan very effective. As a whole, the offense has looked out of sync.

Perhaps the greatest Cardinal of all time is what this young team needs to right the ship.


Kyler Murray sent an awesome message and invitation to a young fan battling cancer

So great.

While Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray’s breakout second NFL season has Arizona in the playoff hunt, he’s already doing his part to live up to the superstar billing off the field.

Last week, a 12-year-old fan named Hector Nahle reached out to Murray in an Instagram video. Hector, a youth-league quarterback from Monterrey, Mexico, was about to enter surgery for his cancer treatment and wanted to send a message to his favorite NFL quarterback.

Hector let Murray know that the Cardinals quarterback was his inspiration, and he added that he’d love to have the opportunity to meet Murray in person one day.

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The power of social media was in full effect here as the video made its way to Murray. And on Thursday, Hector shared a personal response from Murray on Instagram.

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Murray said, inviting Hector and his entire family to Dallas once it’s safe for him to do so:

“Hector, what’s up, bro? It’s Kyler here, man. First and foremost, I want to say you’re a warrior, bro. You inspire me just as much as I inspire you. You’re inspiring all of us. I can’t wait to meet you, but in the meantime, I’m sending you a couple things. Hopefully, you’ll like ‘em. We got a signed game jersey, some merch for you, bro. When you’re fully recovered, we’ll fly you out to Dallas. I know you play quarterback. We’ll get some routes in, we’ll throw some balls around, have some fun, get a nice meal. I’ll fly you and your family out, man. Like I said, I can’t wait to meet you. Keep fighting, dude. Keep fighting, bro. We’re all behind you, thinking about you. We love you, bro.”

You absolutely love to see that. And let’s hope the best for Hector as he continues his recovery.

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3 theories on why Kyler Murray and the Cardinals offense are sputtering under Kliff Kingsbury

Kyler Murray says the Cardinals offense has “hit a wall,” but the issues plaguing the offense have been there all season.

The Cardinals offense has hit a wall. That’s Kyler Murray’s theory, at least. The second-year quarterback was asked about Arizona’s struggles on offense after the team’s fourth loss in five games, and that was the only explanation he could come up with.

“We’ve kind of hit a wall, as far as offensively,” Murray said this week. “That first half of the season, it was kind of effortless. We were moving the ball, having fun, playing fast. When you face a little bit of adversity, how do you react? How do you adjust? Which we ended up doing, but it was just a little too late.”

While Murray is right that the Cardinals were much better offensively in the first half of the season, I voiced my concern that their success was far too dependent on Murray’s creativity out of structure. His improvised production was masking underlying issues that would be exposed if defenses were able to contain him.

Well, over the last few weeks, defenses have figured out how to contain him. Over the last three games — all losses — Murray has run for just 61 yards. Heading into that losing streak, he was averaging 67.1 yards per game. The underlying issues have been exposed, and it’s time for Kliff Kingsbury to make some adjustments in order to take some pressure off his diminutive signal-caller.

It doesn’t take too much digging to figure out what those issues are. I found two big ones that have quietly been festering all season.

Kyler Murray’s leadership, demeanor questionable in the face of adversity

As the Arizona Cardinals’ offensive struggles continue, Kyler Murray’s leadership skills are at front and center.

After starting the season 5-2, the Arizona Cardinals’ season has taken a nosedive. They are losers of four of their last five games and a “Hail Murray” from having a five-game losing streak.

During that stretch, quarterback Kyler Murray has not played well. His passer rating is below 85 and he has turned the ball over five times. His depth of target has dipped below his season average of 7.8 and his completed air yards per completion is below five yards for each game.

His demeanor recently has been the topic of conversation. The team’s play has been frustrating. However, Murray’s demeanor does not suggest that he is unhappy with his performance, rather frustrated with those around him. Murray has been seen isolated, sitting by himself on the sidelines and then visibly frustrated when on the field.

Murray seems flat and almost lifeless at times. During the losing streak, rarely is he seen trying to rally and energize his teammates. Instead, with head down, he seems to be one who is just going through the motions. Murray gives off the impression the mistakes made on the field are all on the other players. When he throws an interception, he sits on the sidelines and pouts. When he loses a fumble, he pouts. When a receiver runs the wrong route, he pouts.

His lifeless demeanor begs the question, does he even want to play football?

Over the past two games, Murray has been picked off twice after staring down his receivers. In the game against New England, Murray stares down DeAndre Hopkins. At least three Patriots defenders jump around the line. Murray does not look off and instead throws in the same direction. The ball is tipped and intercepted. In this past Sunday’s game, Murray stared down receiver Andy Isabella. The pass was picked off and ran back by Rams cornerback Troy Hill for the game-clinching touchdown.

These are not isolated events. There have been multiple times throughout the season where Murray has been late on passes as well. During their 28-21 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, receiver Andy Isabella had separation from the defenders. Murray was late on a pass, causing Isabella to wait for its arrival. The Seahawk defenders were able to catch up to Isabella and knock the pass away. Had the pass been on time, Isabella walks into the end zone for a game-tying touchdown.

Murray’s demeanor has also been noticed in his weekly press conferences.

Following a 34-31 loss to the Miami Dolphins, during his postgame press conference, Murray was asked how he would process the loss and move forward. Murray took several seconds before he could answer with, “We’ve got to be better.”

That sparked a response from former NFL linebacker and current ESPN guest analyst, Bart Scott. During a segment on ESPN radio, Scott was critical of Murray’s response to losing.

“This isn’t a one-off,” said Scott. “If you listen to some of his other interviews after they’ve lost, especially last year after a tough season, he doesn’t come off to me as a leader of men.”

Scott added, “I think he’s all about me because he doesn’t put the onus on himself. He puts it on ‘We have to do something better’ when the team struggles.

“That tells me he’s a finger pointer and not a thumb pointer. Listen, I said it first — Kyler Murray is not a leader of men and if this team hits adversity, they lose Fitzgerald, they ever have an injury to Hopkins, he’s going to come apart at the seams. He’s going to be one of those guys that goes out and spazzes out on a reporter. He’s going to be one of those guys. I know what I know and I know what I’m watching.”

At that point, there had been no evidence validating Scott’s comments and many scoffed at the notion.

Fast forward to the past few weeks and recalling the event, it now seems relevant to ask, was Scott right?

Murray is still a young quarterback who’s learning the difficulties of playing in the NFL. The Cardinals have invested a great amount in him. They spent a first-round pick on him in 2019 and sacrificed a second-round pick to acquire DeAndre Hopkins. Arizona needs Murray to take the reins of this team and provide the leadership severely lacking throughout. Whether he likes it or not, that is his role as the quarterback.

For this team to take the next step, his ability to learn how to become a leader will be critical.

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NFC West Roundup: How the rest of the division fared in Week 13

In the NFC West, the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Arizona Cardinals, while the San Francisco 49ers fell to the Buffalo Bills in Week 13.

Things took quite an unfortunate turn for the Seattle Seahawks this week. They lost a winnable game against the New York Giants while the Los Angeles Rams moved into first place in the NFC West with their victory over the Arizona Cardinals, holding the head-to-head tiebreaker.

However, it was not all bad for Seattle, as Arizona suffered its third consecutive loss and is two games behind the pair of leaders, and the San Francisco 49ers lost to the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football and are out of the race barring a miraculous sequence of events.

The division victor is still far from decided, as there are still four games left in the 2020 season. Let’s dive into the specifics of how Seattle’s rivals fared in Week 13.

Giants open as 2.5-point home underdogs vs. Cardinals

The New York Giants open Week 14 as 2.5-point home underdogs against Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals.

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The New York Giants (5-7) sit at atop the NFC East after their major upset of the Seahawks in Seattle on Sunday and now will host another ascending NFC West team this Sunday, the Arizona Cardinals (6-6), at MetLife Stadium.

BetMGM made the Cardinals 2.5-point road favorites in the game but have not yet set the over/under, likely because of the uncertain status of Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, who is nursing a strained hamstring.

The Giants are currently on a four-game winning streak which has jettisoned them into the lead in the NFC East, a division that has fallen on hard times. The four teams had not defeated a team with a winning record until this past week when the Giants knocked off the 8-3 Seahawks and the Washington Football Team hung a loss on the 11-0 Pittsburgh Steelers, both on the road.

The Cardinals have lost three consecutive games. They lost two close ones in Seattle and New England and then were bested by the L.A. Rams, 38-28, at home this past weekend.

Arizona is led by second-year quarterback Kyler Murray, the first overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, who has become a legitimate weapon and star in the NFL. He is currently the most productive player on all of the major daily fantasy football sites.

The Giants’ 2020 schedule reads like a tour of teams who chose quarterbacks with the No. 1 pick the last few years. In Week 4, they played the Rams (Jared Goff, 2016) and in Week 12, they faced which, who was without Joe Burrow, this year’s top pick. Next week, they will host the Cleveland Browns, who are led by 2018’s top pick, Baker Mayfield.

The Cardinals are 5-7 against the spread and three of their six losses have come by three points. The other losses are by 10, seven and 10 points. Like the Giants, they don’t go down without a fight.

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Former Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray struggles again in loss to Los Angeles

Former Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray continued his cold stretch as his Arizona Cardinals lost against to the Los Angeles Rams.

Former Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray got off to a fantastic start in his second NFL season in Arizona, but things have started to come back to Earth a bit for him.

After a 5-2 start, the Cardinals have now dropped four of their last five games with their only win coming on a Hail Mary against Buffalo. Now at 6-6, they are fighting for their life to even make the postseason after looking like potential contenders just a month or so ago.

On Sunday, the struggles continued as Arizona suffered a home loss to division foe Los Angeles 38-28.

Murray wasn’t terrible by any means going 21/39 for 173 yards and three touchdowns. But he wasn’t exactly good either as up until a late touchdown when the game was already decided, his completion percentage hovered around 50 percent for the bulk of the afternoon and he also threw a killer pick six.

He also was a non-factor in the running game with just 15 yards rushing. Certainly far below what we have come to expect from him in that department as well.

Trying to right the ship, Murray and the Cardinals will next hit the road and head east for a matchup with the suddenly first place New York Giants next Sunday afternoon.

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Kyler Murray hits milestone with TD pass to Dan Arnold

He becomes only the third player to have 20 touchdown passes and 10 rushing touchdowns in a season and the first to do it in 12 games.

The Arizona Cardinals got off to a good start on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams. They took a 7-0 lead when Kyler Murray found a wide-open Dan Arnold for a 59-yard touchdown pass.

Here is the play:

The touchdown pass was a milestone for Murray.

It was his 20th touchdown pass of the year, which matches the total he had as a rookie in 2019.

He now has 20 touchdown passes and 10 rushing touchdowns. He is only the third player to accomplish that in a season. Cam Newton did it in 2011 as a rookie and Kordell Stewart did it in 1997.

Murray became the first player to ever accomplish it in the first 12 games of a season.

With several games remaining on the schedule, there is still a lot he can accomplish. More milestones are likely to come this year.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Los Angeles Rams vs. Arizona Cardinals live stream, tv channel, start time predictions, odds

The Arizona Cardinals will host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday afternoon from State Farm Stadium on Sunday afternoon, stream it live here.

The Arizona Cardinals will host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday afternoon from State Farm Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The Cardinals have lost two in a row and will look to right the ship today against a Rams team who is fighting for a playoff spot in the NFC. Meanwhile, the Rams are coming off a tough loss to the 49ers last week on a last-second field goal and Sean McVay absolutely needs a win today to stay in the playoff race.

Can the Cardinals get back on the winning side of the ball? Tune in and find out, here is everything you need to know to stream the action today!

Los Angeles Rams vs. Arizona Cardinals

  • When: Sunday, December 6
  • Time: 4:05 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: FOX
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

Prediction: I’m torn in this game, both teams are in need of a win and I think Arizona will come out strong being at home but I also believe the Rams absolutely need a win to stay in the playoff race. Will it be a battle of the young coaches? We’ll have to see. I’m going with the Cardinals, buy it up to 3 if you’d like.

Bet: Arizona Cardinals +2.5

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NFL Football Odds and Betting Lines

NFL odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds last updated Sunday at 3:15 p.m. ET.

Los Angeles Rams (-2.5) vs. Arizona Cardinals

Over/Under: 48.5

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Kyler Murray, Justin Pugh set to play vs. Rams on Sunday

Only Jalen Thompson has been ruled out of Sunday’s game.

The Arizona Cardinals released their final injury report of the week and are in good shape healthwise. They will have a healthy offense and only have one player ruled out of the game.

Quarterback Kyler Murray was a full participant for the second day in a row and has no game designation. He is good to go.

Safety Jalen Thompson did not practice again with his ankle injury and is out for the second week in a row.

Defensive lineman Rashard Lawrence, recently activated from injured reserve, was limited for the third straight day and is questionable. Also questionable is defensive lineman Angelo Blackson, who was a new addition to the injury report on Friday. He sat out with an illness, while safety Charles Washington (groin) was limited for the second day in a row and is questionable, although he was questionable last week and still played.

Just guessing, expect Lawrence to perhaps miss the game, while Blackson and Washington will play.

Everyone else on the injury report was a full participant on Friday, including guard Justin Pugh (ankle), cornerback Johnathan Joseph (knee, ankle) and defensive lineman Zach Allen (ankle). They all had been limited in practice prior to Friday.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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