Cardinals’ Markus Golden knee ‘feeling way better’
Oct 29, 2018, 11:30 AM
Arizona Cardinals defensive end Markus Golden (44) sacks San Francisco 49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard (3) as defensive end Chandler Jones (55) looks on during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Markus Golden’s torn ACL injury suffered in Week 4 of last season is now just a thing of the past.
Golden led Arizona with seven tackles including two tackles for loss and a sack on Sunday in a 18-15 win, the team’s second of the season, against the San Francisco 49ers.
“It felt good this morning to wake up with a victory,” Golden told Doug & Wolf on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station Monday.
The 27-year-old Golden has played in five out of eight games for Arizona in his fourth season out of Missouri.
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Sunday’s performance marked his best since the injury, and Golden is more comfortable now than he’s ever been.
“It’s feeling better, it’s feeling way better,” he said on his knee recovery. “Each week I’ve been getting out there and just running around and mentally getting better.
“My parents instilled in me, ‘whatever you do, go a hundred percent no matter what’ and that’s something I took as a little kid and really took seriously.”
A defensive scheme switch to a base 4-3 sparked a breakout performance by Deone Bucannon, who hadn’t recorded a tackle in a month and has not been getting consistent playing time.
“I’ve been playing with Buc since I’ve been here so he’s like a brother to me,” Golden said. “He’s a playmaker, that’s all he’s been doing since I’ve been playing with him. I felt his energy out there and as always just that extra motivation having him out there.”
Arizona’s defense limited the 49ers to an average of 3.5 rushing yards per carry. The team is on a bye week to gear up for the second half of the season.
The Cardinals will travel to Arrowhead Stadium to face the 7-1 Kansas City Chiefs on Nov. 11.
No days off for Golden, though.
“I’ll be here, still going to the facilities and getting my body right,” Golden said. “Just resting, getting ready for next weekend and hanging out with my family.”
