The high-flying Arizona Cardinals will travel to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome to take on the NFC powerhouse New Orleans Saints in a game featuring high-profile players and matchups all over the field. Cardinals QB and offensive rookie of the year favorite Kyler Murray will look to continue his stellar play in what is likely the toughest game of his young career. The ageless Larry Fitzgerald will take on a top-ranked defense featuring Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore. NFC Defensive Player of the Week Chandler Jones and recently reinstated All-Pro Patrick Peterson aim to shut down a potent Saints offense featuring one of the league’s best receivers in Michael Thomas. And perhaps the biggest question of the day: Who will suit up at quarterback for the Saints?
High-profile players questionable to play for both teams:
The Saints have been down their superstar quarterback for five weeks now, as the future Hall of Famer Drew Brees suffered a thumb injury against the Los Angeles Rams in week two. In his relief, Teddy Bridgewater has led the team to a 5-0 record and looked phenomenal.
Brees has been targeting this week 8 matchup against the Cardinals for some time now as an ideal time to return. However, his status is still up in the air.
On playing this Sunday, Brees said “That’s the plan. We’ll see.”
Drew Brees is obviously going to do anything in his power to play. He’s a top-notch competitor and legendary football player. However, the team is going to be smart with his return. They want the face of their franchise to be at 100% when he gets back into action. Following Sunday’s game, the Saints have their bye week. It seems like the perfect window for Brees to recover completely, but he is still doing everything he can to play against the Cardinals.
Whether it’s Brees or Bridgewater, the Cardinals have a difficult task ahead of them.
Quarterback isn’t the only high-profile position in question for Sunday’s game, as Pro-Bowl running backs Alvin Kamara and David Johnson aren’t a lock to play. Johnson essentially missed last Sunday’s victory over the Giants with one carry, as he was only intended to be used in emergency situations. Instead, Chase Edmonds took over the ballgame with three rushing touchdowns and 126 rushing yards. On the other side, Saints running back Latavius Murray had great outing in relief of the injured Kamara, with 119 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. Both the Cardinals and the Saints’ high-profile backs did not practice on Wednesday, and they are in question for the game.
Will Christian Kirk finally make his return to the Cardinals offense after missing the last three weeks with a knee injury? The team could certainly use his help this Sunday.
With that, let’s look at the Saints on offense:
This season, both Drew Brees and Teddy Bridgewater have enjoyed a Saints offense that is full of talent. The unit is headlined by All-Pro receiver Michael Thomas. Thomas is coming off a monster year in which he racked up 1,405 receiving yards and nine touchdown receptions. He hasn’t missed a beat this year, as he already has totaled 763 yards and three scores.
Thomas will be shadowed by another All-Pro in Patrick Peterson. Peterson will need to keep Thomas contained to force other players to make plays on a seemingly much-improved Cardinals defense.
Running back Alvin Kamara’s in-game explosiveness is never a question, though it may be interesting to see how his ankle holds up if he plays. The Cardinals can’t blink if Kamara sits, however, as Latavius Murray has proven his effectiveness in this Saints offense.
The Saints boast one of the best offensive lines in football. They have one of the league’s top tackle duos in Terron Armstead and Ryan Ramczyk. The Cardinals defense is coming off an eight-sack performance against the Giants. They can’t slow down one bit this Sunday.
Tight end Jared Cook is still a threat to opposing defenses, yet his status is also up in the air. He missed Wednesday’s practice with an ankle injury after sitting out last Sunday’s game against the Bears. While the Cardinals are coming off a strong game against one of the league’s best in Evan Engram (1 REC, 6 yards), they haven’t shown the ability to consistently stop opposing tight ends yet.
The defense:
The Saints harassed Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky for the entirety of last week’s game. Chicago’s offense couldn’t move the ball and only managed to put up some garbage time stats.
Their pass-rushing unit is no joke, headlined by the likes of Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport. Jordan had 12 sacks in 2018 and already has seven so far in 2019. The Cardinals offensive line has been very good in the last few weeks, but they have to prove they can hold up against elite pass rushes and not just the weak ones.
The linebacker core is a good one in New Orleans. Demario Davis and Kiko Alonso patrol the middle of the field and guide the Saints rushing defense. Both will have a tall task in attempting to stop the lightning-fast Kyler Murray from taking over the game with his legs.
There are some question marks for the Saints in the secondary, as cornerback Eli Apple suffered a knee injury in Sunday’s win over the Bears. Meanwhile, P.J. Williams is still suspended for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. While Marshon Lattimore is still playing great football, the opposing side could be a potential weak point for Kliff Kingsbury to exploit.
Final Thoughts:
Brees or no Brees, this game is the toughest of the season for the Cardinals. They’ve been playing great football the past few weeks and look to be rejuvenated on defense with Patrick Peterson. The question is: Can they keep up with the 6-1 Saints?
This would be an astronomical victory if the Cardinals can pull it off. They’d be 4-3-1 with a chance to make another statement against the current NFC West leading 49ers on Thursday Night Football. Chandler Jones and Terrell Suggs will have to play up to last week’s performance against a far superior pass-protection unit. Patrick Peterson has to contain Michael Thomas.
The Cardinals offense has to combine their passing efficiency shown against Atlanta and their running efficiency against the Giants. Kyler Murray will be playing in one of the NFL’s most hostile environments. The Superdome is an extraordinarily difficult place to play for any quarterback, let alone a rookie. But Murray has proved he isn’t an ordinary rookie quarterback.
Can the red-hot Cardinals keep the win streak alive against the Saints? See you all next week for an early preview of Thursday Night Football.
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