5 biggest takeaways from the Cardinals win over the Jaguars in Week 3
By Kyler Burd
Hopkins doesn’t make or break the Cardinals offense
Dealing with a rib injury, DeAndre Hopkins did not play a major role in the Cardinals’ offense, and they still won.
Since becoming an Arizona Cardinal in 2020, Hopkins has played 19 games with his new team. In those, he has had over 100 receiving yards 7 times.
On Sunday Hopkins finished with only 3 receptions and 21 yards, a low for him as a Cardinal. Even so, Kyler Murray finished with over 300 yards passing to his other pass-catching options such as A.J. Green and Christian Kirk who both finished over 100 yards receiving on the day.
In fact, Hopkins is 4th on the list of receivers for the Arizona Cardinals with 158 yards through 3 games while Green, Kirk, and Rondale Moore all have more than 180 yards.
Taking away this game due to the injury Hopkins was dealing with, it should be encouraging that the Arizona Cardinals offense is still functioning without him having to take the majority of the target share. Murray has looked much more comfortable finding other options, which has, in turn, made him less predictable for the defenses covering Arizona’s receivers.
Now, it is important to note that while Hopkins might be more of a luxury than a necessity compared to 2020, he is absolutely crucial for success against top-tier opponents such as the LA Rams and Cleveland Browns both of whom the Cardinals face in the next four weeks. Wins against those teams will require the best players for Arizona to show up in a big way.