Subscribe
Follow Us
The Arizona Cardinals can't find a way to win football games consistently this season. They suffered another hard fought loss in Week 8 against the Minnesota Vikings, and watched their record on the season fall to 3-5, putting them in last place in the NFC West. The Cardinals high expectations for the season don't seem close to being reached at this point.
Arizona once again stayed competitive throughout this game, but couldn't find a way to break through and beat the Vikings in this one. They had success in some areas, but their overarching struggles on both sides of the ball killed them in this game. Whether changes can be made to remedy these issues throughout the final nine games of the season remains to be seen.
For now, the Cardinals are going to bescratching their heads wondering how they didn't come away with a win here. They simply made too many mistakes to win, though, and are going to have to cut that out of their game if they intend on improving. Let's take a look back at Arizona's latest loss and see which players will likely shoulder the most blame for this disappointing result.
3. Kyler Murray
All in all, Kyler Murray actually had one of his better outings of the season. The problem is that he made some key mistakes late in the game that ended up killing the Cardinals, and had he played a cleaner game down the stretch, Arizona likely has a much different outlook on their season than they do now.
Murray threw for a season-high 326 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 36 yards on six carries as well. He threw a pair of interceptions, though, and each of them proved to be quite costly to the Cardinals comeback attempt. Murray was intercepted on the first play right after the Vikings retook a 21-17 lead in the third quarter, which led to another Vikings touchdown, making the score 28-17. Murray was picked off again in the fourth quarter on a drive that saw Arizona on the verge of entering the red zone.
Even with all the other good stats Murray had on the day, you can't make those mistakes and expect to win. Murray played a big role in keeping the Cardinals in this game, but it's not about how long you can stay competitive; it's about who wins and loses. Murray lost, and his big mistakes earn him a spot on this list unfortunately.
2. Eno Benjamin
Eno Benjamin got the start with James Conner out again, and the Cardinals will likely be hoping they can send Benjamin back to a complementary role after this game, Benjamin had a big game against the New Orleans Saints in Week 7, but couldn't find a way to replicate that outing on Sunday afternoon against the Vikings.
Benjamin finished the day with just 22 yards on nine carries, while also catching four passes for 23 yards as well. All in all, that's not a very good day for Benjamin, who had some expectations for himself after his strong outing last week against New Orleans. The game script didn't work in his favor, but even when he got the ball, he wasn't very effective.
The Cardinals needed Benjamin to step up and help Murray out on offense, but he was invisible for much of the day. Benjamin could have made a louder case to take over Arizona's starting running back role with a strong performance, but instead, he will likely give way to Conner whenever he is able to return.
1. Greg Dortch
Greg Dortch had an unexpectedly strong start to the season, which was due more to the Cardinals being short on healthy pass catchers, rather than him earning a spot in the starting lineup. With DeAndre Hopkins and Rondale Moore fully healthy now, Dortch has taken a back seat again, and his play in Week 8 likely won't change that anytime soon.
Dortch was a nonfactor in the passing game, hauling in just two passes for 12 yards. Dortch was only on the field for 20 offensive snaps, so that wasn't particularly egregious. The big issue was that Dortch muffed a punt early in the fourth quarter that allowed the Vikings to turn a two-point lead into an eight-point lead.
This proved to be the score the Cardinals couldn't overcome, and it was handed to them on a silver platter by Dortch. Arizona may have ultimately still lost had Dortch held onto this punt, but the fact that Minnesota quickly turned this fumble into six points makes his mistake even more noteworthy. The Cardinals had other issues that they could have overcome, but Dortch's muffed punt proved to be something they couldn't overcome, and it likely cost them a chance to beat the Vikings.
