Evaluating Snap Counts From Cardinals-Broncos
The Arizona Cardinals were losers once again in 24-15 fashion against the Denver Broncos, officially putting the team out of postseason contention with just three weeks left.
Now, the Cardinals must prepare for a Christmas Day meeting with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their final home game of the year.
Before Arizona officially turns the page, let's take a look at the snap counts from Sunday's loss:
Evaluating Snap Counts From Cardinals' 24-15 Loss to Broncos
Offense
QB- Colt McCoy (54%), Trace McSorley (46%)
McCoy left with a concussion in the early stages of the third quarter, but neither quarterback appeared good enough to propel the Cardinals to a win with three combined interceptions between the two. McSorley proved to be more mobile but lacked the experience and poise McCoy brings to the table.
RB- James Conner (91%), Keaontay Ingram (12%)
For what it's worth, the Broncos have one of the best defenses in all of football, so it was tough sledding from the jump. Although Conner managed to reach the end zone and salvage some fantasy football points, neither he or Ingram had performances to write home about.
WR- DeAndre Hopkins (92%), Marquise Brown (89%), A.J. Green (57%), Robbie Anderson (37%), Greg Dortch (9%)
Hopkins was able to put up somewhat normal numbers thanks to sheer volume, but the rest of the cast failed to provide any real threat. Chalk that up to musical chairs at QB and a tough secondary, but even Hopkins felt quiet at times.
TE- Trey McBride (86%), Maxx Williams (20%), Stephen Anderson (6%)
Although Williams played significantly less snaps, it felt like we heard his name called more than McBride.
OL- Josh Jones (100%), Will Hernandez (100%), Billy Price (100%), Max Garcia (88%), Kelvin Beachum (75%), Cody Ford (25%), Lecitus Smith (12%)
The Cardinals once again were forced to use a different combination of OL despite the return of Hernandez to the lineup. Beachum had his leg awkwardly fallen on and missed some snaps but ultimately returned to action.
Defense
DL- J.J. Watt (84%), Leki Fotu (71%), Jonathan Ledbetter (59%), Trysten Hill (33%), Manny Jones (19%)
The Cardinals brought Brett Rypein down on what felt like every other drop-back, so props to the line for getting constant penetration - yet Latavius Murray's 120+yard performance left plenty of room for improvement. All in all, it felt like everybody contributed in bringing down the QB.
LB- Zaven Collins (100%), Isaiah Simmons (88%), Markus Golden (71%), Tanner Vallejo (54%), Ben Niemann (28%), Victor Dimukeje (20%), Dennis Gardeck (16%), Myjai Sanders (16%), Cameron Thomas (14%), Zeke Turner (13%), Kamu Grugier-Hill (9%), Jesse Luketa (9%)
Collins was the lone Cardinals defensive player to be out there on every single snap. While Simmons tends to bounce around, Vallejo manned most duties opposite of Collins at ILB with Niemann and Turner filling most of the work.
On the outside, the Cardinals are still in search of the guy opposite of Golden. Moving forward, guys such as Sanders and Thomas need more snaps.
CB- Christian Matthew (96%), Jace Whittaker (90%), Nate Hairston (4%)
Missing their top three corners, the group led by rookie CB Matthew did a good enough job to now allow Jerry Jeudy to post gaudy numbers like he did last week.
S- Budda Baker (99%), Jalen Thompson (96%), Chris Banjo (13%)
No big plays came in the passing game, a big credit to the play of guys like Baker and Thompson.
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