The Arizona Cardinals suffered a frustrating 34-26 loss on Sunday to the Minnesota Vikings. It was a perfect opportunity for the team to advance to .500 and build momentum in the NFC West.
Instead, three second-half turnovers put the game away for the Cards and now many are questioning the future of the team.
The most frustrating part of the loss was how well the Cardinals played outside of a few crucial mistakes. A muffed punt, fumbled snap and two interceptions sealed the game for Arizona.
Some players stood out and had stud performances. Others were duds.
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STUD: WR DeAndre Hopkins
Hopkins continues to remind the league why he’s still one of the best receivers in the NFL. He put an exclamation point on that statement with an incredible one-handed touchdown catch just before the close of the first half.
In his second game back from suspension, Hopkins had 12 catches for 159 yards and a touchdown. He was working against Vikings cornerback Cameron Dantzler for almost the entire game, a matchup he clearly took advantage of.
Hopkins’ play to this point in the season was huge for him personally, as many began to question if he was on the decline following an injury-riddled 2021 campaign coupled with the six-game suspension.
With some contract question marks moving forward, Hopkins is making it clear he is still one of the best.
DUD: C Billy Price
With Rodney Hudson dealing with a knee injury still, the Cardinals have had to turn to former first-round center Billy Price.
Price gave up two sacks on the day and had a miscue that forced the Cardinals to have to settle for a field goal. The Vikings’ defensive game plan was essentially to get one-on-one matchups against Price, which was clearly effective.
After a solid game last week against the Saints, Price was a liability. The Cardinals were unable to get anything going in the inside rushing attack, which set up many of their long-passing situations.
The Cardinals certainly have question marks about the center position for the future, but they’re going to need Hudson back if they have any hope of righting this ship.
STUD: DL J.J. Watt
In his first game as a father, J.J. Watt had two sacks and was overall dominant on the day. The 34-year-old has been the only consistent pass-rushing presence for the Cardinals this season.
There have to be some question marks for Watt and his future with the team. He’s still playing at a high level but is aging on a bad team. Given he and his wife are settled down in Arizona, it appears unlikely he’ll be going anywhere.
Of all the players on this 3-5 team, you have to feel for Watt, who is playing so well in these losing efforts when others are not. Still, it was great for him to perform so well for his first game as a father.
DUD: Robbie Anderson
Since being acquired two weeks ago by the Cardinals, Anderson has made no impact. He has yet to log a catch in two games with the team and didn’t see the field all that much on Sunday.
In fact, A.J. Green was taking many of Anderson’s snaps in this game, which does not bode well for the Cardinals.
In Anderson’s defense, he did have Patrick Peterson beat on a deep route that was eventually underthrown and picked off by Harrison Smith. If Murray had a second longer in the pocket, Anderson might have taken his first catch to the house.
DUD: WR Greg Dortch
Possibly the most gut-wrenching play of the day was Dortch’s muffed punt. The Cardinals had got off the field and were getting the ball back with a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter.
Instead, Dortch muffed the punt and gave the ball right back to the Vikings. It also doesn’t help that Rondale Moore had his best game of the season, whose role was being taken up by Dortch the first few weeks.
Dortch’s role appears to only be decreasing, as he didn’t see much time offensively. The inevitable return of Hollywood Brown will push his role back even further.
