Arizona Cardinals offensive output lacking in loss to Broncos
Dec 18, 2022, 5:06 PM | Updated: 10:13 pm
For all the good the Arizona Cardinals defense did against the Denver Broncos, the offense couldn’t carry its share of the workload in a 24-15 loss on Sunday.
Held without a touchdown until late in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals totaled 240 yards of offense in the defeat. They were 2-for-12 on third down (17%).
Kicker Matt Prater was the highest-scoring Cardinal on the team behind a trio of successful field goals.
Leading the way in the first half for Arizona was backup quarterback Colt McCoy. Taking over for injured starter Kyler Murray, McCoy turned in one of his worst starts as a Cardinal, completing 13 of his 21 passes (61.9%) of his throws for 78 yards and an interception.
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Making matters worse, McCoy was unable to finish the matchup due to a concussion sustained in the third quarter. The Cardinals were already thin at the position following Kyler Murray’s season-ending knee injury against the New England Patriots last week.
Offensive linemen Kelvin Beachum and Max Garcia were also banged up during the contest.
McCoy’s injury made way for third-stringer Trace McSorley, who struggled to find his footing against a stout Denver defense.
In place of McCoy, McSorley went 7-of-15 (46.7%) for 95 yards and threw two interceptions. He also ran the rock one time for eight yards and was sacked once.
While it was tough sledding for Arizona’s passing attack, the same could be said for the running game.
Led by running back James Conner, Arizona mustered just 73 total rushing yards on 20 carries. Conner managed to find pay dirt with just over six minutes left to play but was nowhere near the impact he was in the previous two outings, recording 63 yards to go along with the TD on 13 carries.
It’s a tough pill to swallow for Arizona, especially after amassing seven sacks, nine QB hits, seven tackles for loss, four passes defensed and an interception defensively.
