The Arizona Cardinals will kick-start their preseason by taking on the NFL’s 2021 miracle team, the Cincinnati Bengals, on Friday night. After serving as the perennial punchline team in the league, the Bengals shocked the world by winning the AFC championship and advancing to the Super Bowl last season. Meanwhile, the Cardinals saw a promising start to their season derailed by going one-and-out in an ugly playoff loss to the Super Bowl-winning Los Angeles Rams.
The Cardinals just made Kyler Murray a rich man with a fat, new contract, and he’s currently dealing with wrist soreness. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out he isn’t playing in Thursday’s preseason opener.
Backup quarterback Colt McCoy is also out due to arm soreness.
So that leaves Trace McSorley and undrafted rookie Jarrett Guarantano to captain the ship at quarterback in the first preseason game. The Bengals defense struggled early last season before coming on late. They were stout up front, but the secondary was leaking profusely when it came to yards allowed from big plays.
So it’ll be interesting to see if McSorley and Guarantano can turn the ball loose a bit in this matchup. Opposing teams averaged 248.7 passing yards per game against the Bengals last season, but they remained dominant throughout in stopping the run.&# 13;
The offense for the Cardinals could get the spotlight treatment on Friday considering the massive shakeup the team had defensively in losing Chandler Jones to the Las Vegas Raiders. They also lost veteran linebacker Jordan Hicks as well. So the defense could take a step back this season.
It's important to note that wide receiver Marquise Brown and tight end Trey McBride are both listed as questionable to play in this game.