The Arizona Cardinals are heading into a Week 11 matchup against the Houston Texans in a game that, when you looked at the schedule three months ago, appeared to be one of the more forgettable ones. Add to the fact the Cards are 2-8, and you would think there is little meaning to this game, but that’s not the case in the slightest.
Instead, the Cards are using the last seven games of the season to confirm that Kyler Murray is the right man to lead this team, so this game, and every one after it, are meaningful. It’s also a big game for the Texans, since if they win, they will be one step closer to overtaking the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC South.
Therefore, there are quite a few burning questions leading into this game, with the top three outlined below.
3 questions facing the Arizona Cardinals in Week 11
1 - Will Kyler Murray string together another strong performance?
As the title of this article states, the biggest question, by far, is if Kyler Murray can repeat or even outperform his Week 10 outing. Murray looked strong on many fronts, including making plays with his legs, which was a question mark last week.
Heading into a road game against a team that is performing far better than they were supposed to, however, will test Muray and the Arizona Cardinals. Arizona has recently been a good road team, but they have yet to win on an opponent’s turf this season, and Murray hasn’t played in a road game in nearly 13 months.
This isn’t to say Murray will take a step back this week, but the odds are stacked against a quarterback making his second start since tearing his ACL. Murray can alleviate everyone’s concerns with a strong outing, and convince a few more fans in the Red Sea that he’s the guy.
2 - Who will step up on the Cardinals defensive line?
The Arizona Cardinals received crushing news when they learned Jonathan Ledbetter would miss Sunday’s game. Ledbetter has been a solid contributor all season, so now, someone along the defensive front must fill the void, with Dante Stills serving as the likely front runner.
Stills, despite his youth and overall draft position, has been one of the NFL’s better defensive tackles, ranking 41st out of 125 qualified candidates with a 65.5 PFF Grade. He has 25 total tackles and 13 stops - the latter of which shows us how often a tackle results in a good play for the defensive unit, per PFF.
Roy Lopez is another one to watch, and his 64.6 grade isn’t too far behind Stills’. Lopez has 19 total tackles in 175 snaps, and 12 stops. He’s playing his way into a long-term role with the Cardinals if he keeps this up, and remember, this will be a revenge game for Lopez as he returns to Houston tomorrow.
3 - What will the Cardinals new running back rotation look like?
We know who will start, but we have no idea who will line up behind that starter. It won’t be Emari Demercado, who is out yet again with a toe injury. Michael Carter came to the desert this week, but it’s still up in the air on whether the Arizona Cardinals are willing to roll with him.
This means Keaontay Ingram is the only shoo-in to see playing time besides Conner. While Carter could get the nod because of Ingram’s inefficacy, the Cards can also call up Tony Jones Jr., but the back has been every bit as pedestrian as Ingram.
Overall, there is no ideal situation here since Carter is so new while Ingram and Jones have shown us they’re only good for playing in emergency situations, like if a back goes down with an injury during the game. Ideally, Conner will handle the bulk of the carries while Carter gets more of a look next week.
Source: Paris v Anderson, The Pass Rush, And Friday Before The Texans, by Darren Urban, AZCardinals.com