Can 2022 get any worse for the Arizona Cardinals? The year began with their 11th win over the playoff-bound Cowboys in Dallas, which brought hope and optimism to their season. The Cardinals had started the 2021 season 7-0, then ran into some trouble and injuries. They lost quarterback Kyler Murray after losing for the first time to the Packers in Week 8, won two of the next three games before heading into their bye week. Murray returned from his injury to lead the Cards to their 10th win of the season, beating the Bears in Chicago to secure a playoff spot, and it looked like they were back on track.
No, they weren’t. They sputtered all over again, not winning another game in the year 2021, losing three in a row in December. Once the ball dropped in New York and all of us welcomed 2022 into our lives, the Cardinals beat the Cowboys, feeling as though they turned their season around for the second time. And for the second time they didn’t. This was going to be a great year for the Cards — until it became their worst year.
From an accounting perspective, the Cards are 6-15 since beating the Cowboys on Jan. 2. From a decision-making standpoint, they are 0 for the year and beyond. Everything they’ve touched in ’22 has been bad — from being baited into giving Murray a $250 million contract extension with his ransom letter, to extending their head coach and general manager, to firing their offensive line coach midseason to collecting older players who are often ineffective and injured. And Monday night on the third play of the game, ’22 went from horrible to devastating as they lost Murray to what is believed to be a torn ACL. If confirmed, it will prevent him from being ready for the start of the 2023 season and causes great concern for his future. Murray needs his speed, quickness and electric movement to be an effective player as he struggles when kept in the pocket. Whenever a player suffers a devasting injury to his lower body, the long-term effects are worrisome. Without hi s Road Runner-like skills, Murray is a below-average quarterback, making this injury devasting to all.
The Cardinals have been trending downward since we started ’22 and will continue to trend in that direction even though backup quarterback Colt McCoy offers some hope. In those six wins since the start of ’22, McCoy is responsible for one, and had he gotten a little more pass protection, he might have been able to keep Monday night’s game closer against the Patriots. Behind a bad line, McCoy is struggling for time to throw, and when he holds the ball a little longer, he takes a beating. He won’t make it through four more games as McCoy is prone to injuries himself. This weekend in the Cardinals-Broncos game, instead of seeing Murry and Russell Wilson, two quarterbacks who received huge contract extensions this offseason, we will watch McCoy and Brett Rypien battle. The Under might be the only play in this game.