Report Card(inals) - Week Two Win vs. Raiders

It was really a tale of two halves, but some position groups for the Arizona Cardinals graded well this week.

Author:
Kyler Burd
Updated:
Sep 18, 2022 9:37 PM EDT
Original:
Sep 18, 2022

In this story:

The difference between the first and second halves of this game were night and day for the Arizona Cardinals. A completely uninspiring performance in the first half led to a 20-0 deficit that was eerily similar to last week's defeat at the hands of the Chiefs.

Fortunately, the offense and defense both turned it around in the second half and put the squad in a position to force overtime in the final seconds of the game.

A crazy overtime period ended with a scoop and score from Byron Murphy Jr. that sealed the 29-23 victory for the Cardinals.

Here are how the different position groups fared on both sides of the ball:

Arizona Cardinals Week 2 Report Card

Cornerbacks - C+

There were good and bad moments with this position group.

Bad - Marco Wilson in general had a bad day. A PI call that gave the Raiders the ball near the end zone just added onto that. Wilson has not hit his stride yet.

Good - Byron Murphy drew Davante Adams for the majority of the game and kept the All-Pro receiver to just 2 receptions and 11 yards.

Derek Carr seemed to have an easy go of it in the first half, but the secondary did stiffen up considerably in the second half.

Safeties - B-

Budda Baker hardly makes mistakes and although he wasn't flying all over the field the way he usually is, he made his presence known at the appropriate times. He finished third on the team with six combined tackles.

Jalen Thompson had his good and bad moments. On one hand, a PI call and a missed overtime interception are marks against his performance, but he also made several key tackles. He led the team in tackles with 10 combined.

Linebackers - C

Yes, they played better than last week but there were certainly some sketchy moments with that group.

Surprisingly, Isaiah Simmons played a limited role in the first few defensive drives of the game and Nick Vigil played a central role.

Carr took advantage of the middle of the field with Hollins and Renfrow in the first half but that part of the field was noticeably better defended in the second.

In overtime, the linebackers came up big and Zaven Collins forced one fumble that was recovered by the Raiders and two plays later Simmons forced a fumble that was recovered by Byron Murphy and returned for the game-winning touchdown.

Defensive Line - B-

What started off as a concerning deja vu of last week's performance, the defensive line eventually came up big in the second half/overtime.

It was nice to see J.J. Watt back with the group and even better to see him get a sack on the second play of the game.

The line was gashed multiple times in the first few Raiders drives and Josh Jacobs looked on pace to have a great game.

To their credit, the defensive line made adjustments and ended up holding the Raiders to 80 rushing yards and no scores.

Unfortunately, Watt's sack was the only one of the game and the Cardinals will need to continue working on getting some interior pressure. That would go a long way to keeping opposing quarterbacks uncomfortable and preventing some of these huge deficits from occurring in the first half.

Running Back - B-

It didn't all come from the expected source, James Conner, but the Cardinals did eventually put together a respectable running game that helped them get the win.

Darrel Williams was actually the team's leading rusher after Conner left the game with a (hopefully) minor injury. He finished with 59 yards and a touchdown.

As welcome as Williams' performance was, it was great to see Eno Benjamin get some real game-time attention. He plays with such heart and effort that it is hard not to root for him. He finished second on the team in rushing with 31 yards on 8 carries.

Wide Receiver - C

Marquise Brown was the team's leading wide receiver, but not the leading receiver overall on Sunday. That is generally not a great sign.

Brown had 68 yards on Sunday, which is respectable, but that was on six receptions from 11 targets. He had a handful of very meaningful drops that could have prevented the late-game heroics that were needed to eke out a win. So far, Brown has not proven himself to be worth the first-round pick that was sacrificed to pick him up.

The shining light of the group is clearly Greg Dortch. A fan favorite, and a great football player to boot, Dortch is a great story that is finally getting his chance to shine in the NFL. He hauled in every ball thrown his way and finished the afternoon with 55 yards and his first touchdown in the National Football League.

Tight End - A-

Zach Ertz came up big for the Cardinals on Sunday.

When targeted in the middle of the field he was nearly automatic and he ended up being the teams leading overall receiving option with 75 yards on 8 receptions and averaged 9.4 yards per reception.

Maxx Williams saw some playing time as a blocker but was never targeted and rookie 2nd round pick Trey McBride was similarly unused in the passing game.

Nevertheless, Ertz's major role in the eventual win get the tight end group the highest grade on the team.

Offensive Line - B-

Offensive line is an incredibly hard position to grade. What one sees on the eye test during the first watching of a game often doesn't match up to later analysis or grading. However, I have to give it a shot.

If graded solely by keeping their quarterback off the ground, the offensive line performed well. Murray was only sacked once for a 7 yard loss.

In the first half, Murray did seem rushed to throw due the amount of pressure that Max Crosby was putting on the right side of the line. He blew past Beachum on the play that resulted in a sack and made him look like a severe mismatch.

In the second half, Murray looked a lot more comfortable and it seems only fair to give some of that credit to his o-line. At the end of the day, they did their jobs long enough for Murray to do his.

Quarterback - B

Winning solves everything and that makes it hard to remember back to the first half of Sunday's game when Kyler Murray looked absolutely uninspired.

Thankfully, a light switch came on in the second half and Murray put the team on his back and led them back from a 20-point deficit. He looked masterful at times late in the fourth quarter and showed why is such a controversial, yet enigmatic, quarterback.

Murray finished the day 31/49 for 277 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception.

He deserves all the credit in the world for his performance late in the game. If he can bottle that up and start games with the same energy he just might be the spark that saves the Arizona Cardinals' season.

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