3 takeaways from Arizona Cardinals Week 8 loss: More puzzle pieces on defense?
By Sion Fawkes
The Arizona Cardinals may have lost this past afternoon, but the Redbirds look like they got some talent in guys like Michael Wilson and second-year tight end Trey McBride. Especially McBride, who enjoyed a remarkable performance despite the final score.
But McBride wasn’t the only young player who did a phenomenal job, as a plethora of rookies made their presence felt today. Some veteran players deserve recognition too, and we will talk about all of them in the following sections.
We also know who the starting quarterback will be next week, and we will break down why Joshua Dobbs did just enough to warrant perhaps one more game under center. Oh, and it may not be such a bad idea, considering who the Cards will be playing against.
3 takeaways in the Arizona Cardinals Week 8 loss
1 - Rookies once again show up
In the previous piece, we also discussed Michael Wilson’s solid performance, but he wasn’t the only rookie who showed up. Emari Demercado also had a good game, and though he didn’t reach four yards per carry on the ground, the rook still ran hard and racked up a serviceable 78 yards on 20 carries.
Dante Stills is looking more and more like a draft day steal as the 2023 season progresses. He had another five tackles today, 1.5 sacks, two quarterback hits, and a tackle for loss. So far, the rook has recorded 21 combined tackles, 2.5 sacks, three tackles for loss, and a trio of quarterback hits, putting him on pace for some solid numbers as far as sixth-round picks go.
BJ Ojulari was another one whose play jumped out, as he logged two tackles, a tackle behind the line, a sack, and a quarterback hit. As the Arizona Cardinals second-round pick this past April, Ojulari was someone who, sooner or later, needed to enjoy a solid outing. Now let’s see if he can build on it in the coming weeks.