The Arizona Cardinals were looking like a team en route to a dismal season before posting a startling victory over the San Francisco 49ers last week.
Now the Cardinals (2-3) have a chance to reach the .500 mark when they battle the host Green Bay Packers (3-2) on Sunday afternoon.
Arizona recovered from a 13-point halftime deficit on the road against San Francisco for a 24-23 victory. Just as impressive was the way it was achieved.
Kyler Murray guided the Cardinals on a 12-play, 73-yard drive for a touchdown and followed up with a 14-play, 75-yard drive for Chad Ryland’s decisive 35-yard field goal with 1:37 left.
Murray’s performance prevented Arizona from falling to 1-4 and staring at another lost season.
“This league is really hard and I was frustrated with just the way we were playing (in the) first half,” Murray said. “… I feel like the score didn’t represent how well we were moving the ball and the way we were playing.
“When I said, ‘This league is hard,’ the margin for error is very tight and I feel like we were not necessarily giving the game away, but we just weren’t capitalizing on the opportunities we had.”
Cardinals linebacker Mack Wilson had an interception and fumble recovery in the second half. The sixth-year pro is in his first season with Arizona and had just one total takeaway in his first five NFL seasons (three with the Cleveland Browns and two with the New England Patriots).
Now he feels he is on a team that can make a major jump.
“We’re sitting at 2-3, and I still feel like we’ve got a hell of a football team,” Wilson said. “We’ve got a lot of ball ahead of us, going to continue to take it one day at a time. There’s still something brewing in the desert.”
The Packers are entering a stretch in which they play five of seven at home.
Green Bay is coming off a 24-19 road victory over the Los Angeles Rams. Jordan Love threw two third-quarter touchdown passes to aid the Packers.
Love has thrown six touchdown passes in two games since returning from a knee injury. But he also has been intercepted four times.
“We’ve just got to continue to encourage (him) to take what’s there,” Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur said. “He’s always wanted to push the ball down the field, which I respect. One thing we always talk about is sometimes you’ve got to earn the right to throw it down the field.”
Defensively, safety Xavier McKinney has interceptions in each of the first five games to match the franchise record set by Packers legend Irv Comp in 1943.
“I’m on a mission,” said McKinney, who joined the team as a free agent in the offseason.
McKinney, 26, spent his four seasons with the New York Giants. He has matched his career best of five picks in 2021.
“The guy just has a knack for the football and he’s got great ball skills,” LaFleur said. “He’s very instinctive and smart to allow him to anticipate, to make plays, and then he generally makes the play.”
The Packers had receivers Romeo Doubs (suspension) and Christian Watson (ankle) on the practice field Wednesday. Watson was a limited participant. He was injured against the Minnesota Vikings late last month and sat out against Los Angeles.
Doubs was suspended for the game against the Rams due to “conduct detrimental to the team.” Published reports say he was unhappy with his role.
Defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt (ankle) missed the practice.
Arizona receiver Zay Jones is expected to be active after completing a five-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. Right tackle Kelvin Beachum and left guard Evan Brown both sat out practice with hamstring ailments.
The Packers defeated host Arizona 24-21 in 2021 in the most recent matchup.
–Field Level Media
