Cardinals’ maligned WRs make big contributions in win over Washington
Dec 4, 2016, 7:44 PM
GLENDALE, Ariz. — A couple of weeks ago, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald admitted that his team’s lack of big plays in the passing game kept him up at night.
If his sleeping patterns are truly determined by his fellow receivers’ performances, the NFL’s third-leading all-time pass catcher should sleep like a baby Sunday.
Fitzgerald was his normal dependable self, but the Cardinals got massive contributions from other receivers in their 31-23 win over the Washington Redskins at University of Phoenix Stadium.
Maligned wideouts Michael Floyd and J.J. Nelson each scored touchdowns in the win, which snapped a two-game losing skid and kept Arizona’s postseason hopes flickering.
On a 3rd-and-goal from the Washington 6-yard line, Floyd made a contested catch in traffic and spun his way into the end zone to give the Cardinals a 17-13 lead.
While his catch was big, Nelson’s was even bigger. With the Cardinals leading 24-23 with 2:03 remaining in the fourth quarter, head coach Bruce Arians dialed up one of his infamous “no risk-it, no biscuit” plays. Palmer lofted a ball deep over the middle to Nelson, who made a tremendous catch in the end zone in between two defenders to give the Cardinals (5-6-1) an eight-point lead.
“Coach, he came to me and he said ‘do you want this play,’ and I said ‘yes,'” Nelson said. “At that time I was just praying he’d throw it to me.”
And he did. Palmer delivered a deep shot reminiscent of what the Cardinals churned out on a seemingly week-to-week basis in Arians’ first three years on the job. Such big plays on deep throws have been head-scratchingly absent this season whether because of tight coverage, less-than-perfect throws or receivers failing to make plays on 50/50 balls.
“Phenomenal play by a young guy,” Palmer said of Nelson. “You look back at his big catches — they’re all at critical points in games. He’s just one of those guys, when the lights come on and you need a big play, he’s made them.”
Nelson, a second-year player out of UAB, had wiggled his way up the Cardinals’ depth chart during the season. After an eight-catch, two-touchdown performance in a loss to Carolina the day before Halloween, comments from coaches and snap count figures indicated Nelson was basically Arizona’s No. 2 receiver. Since then, however, he’s struggled to maintain his place in the offense. Over his next three games, Nelson had only five catches for 59 yards, with a couple of untimely drops mixed in.
Sunday’s game has to do worlds for his confidence moving forward.
“I just try to come out and continue to get better and not get down and myself,” Nelson said. “I know I haven’t been catching the ball, but I feel making that catch at that time in that moment, that’s a big confidence boost.”
Fitzgerald, the elder statesman of the group who had 10 catches Sunday to move himself past Marvin Harrison and Cris Carter into sole possessionthird-placelace on the league’s all-time catch list with 1,106, loved what he saw from Floyd and Nelson.
“I was really proud of Michael and J.J. — those guys really had their handprints on the game,” Fitzgerald said.
If the Cardinals want to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, they’ll need more games like Sunday’s from their receiving corps in the remaining four contests. That starts in Miami next Sunday against a Dolphins team that saw its six-game winning streak broken Sunday by Baltimore, who featured a lethal aerial attack in a 38-6 win. Joe Flacco threw for 381 yards and four touchdowns for the Ravens.
