Saints v Cardinals Tips: Can Hopkins lead Arizona to a Thursday night win?

Jack Goddard

19 October 2022

Kyler Murray’s Arizona Cardinals host the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football, as both teams look to improve their respective divisional records with a win at Statefarm Stadium.

The Cardinals and Saints enter this primetime game in dire need of a result - both sides currently boast a record of 2-4. The stakes could not be higher this early in the season, and only a win will keep a realistic chance of the play-offs alive.

Arizona have lost all three home games in the 2022 NFL season, but those defeats have come against three of the best teams in the league - the reigning Super Bowl champion LA Rams, Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs, and the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles. A Saints side possibly still led by Andy Dalton is a much more favourable matchup.

Saints’ quarterback roulette

Of course, Dalton may be replaced by the assumed number one quarterback in New Orleans, Jameis Winston, who has been out for the last three weeks with back and ankle injuries. Dalton has overseen just one win - a 39-32 victory over the Seahawks - but gadget player Taysom Hill, who took multiple snaps and ran for 112 yards and three touchdowns, was the main contributor towards that victory.

If Winston does return, he will be without his best weapon as Michael Thomas is set to miss more time with a toe issue. He will, however, be reunited with Chris Olave, who is set to recover from a concussion and suit up. Rookie Olave leads the NFL in total air yards by quite a considerable margin, with 744 yards’ worth of passes aimed his way so far.

Mark Ingram runs with the ball while playing for New Orleans

Winston’s other main asset is Alvin Kamara, who has burst back into form of late. Over his last two games, the running back has amassed 316 yards from scrimmage - 202 rushing and 114 receiving. Considering the Cardinals have given up an average of 394.7 yards per game at home so far this year, you can expect explosive plays from Kamara and Olave.

New Arizona receivers

Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown was in the middle of a career year with Arizona, right until he fractured his foot on Sunday in the Cardinals’ 19-9 loss to the Seahawks. Hollywood’s receptions and receiving yards, of which he had 43 and 485 respectively, are going to have to go somewhere else now, so it’s fortunate that quarterback Kyler Murray will have two new passing options in this match-up.

Firstly, Robbie Anderson has rocked up in Phoenix after a big touchline bust-up with former interim head coach Steve Wilks in Carolina. After a few choice words towards his positional coach, Anderson was sent to the dressing room - and then promptly across the country.

The former Panther should provide a deep threat for Murray, but it’s doubtful how much of the ball he will actually see. Kyler is currently averaging just 5.8 yards per pass attempt at the moment, which is by far the lowest in the league.

Of greater significance to the Cardinals’ long-term chances is the return of star wideout DeAndre Hopkins. The former Houston receiver returns after a six-game suspension following a violation of the league's performance-enhancing drugs policy.

The 30-year-old veteran is undoubtedly the team’s key offensive piece besides Murray, and his 10,581 career receiving yards (13.4 yards per reception) will hopefully help unlock a stagnant Arizona offence. In ten games with Hopkins last season, Arizona went 8-2, scoring an average of 30.9 points per game. In the seven regular-season matches he missed through injury, the Cardinals went 2-4, averaging just 19.6 points per game.

Hopkins is absolutely essential. However, he is approaching the twilight of his career and hasn’t played regular football in almost a year. There will be a lot of rust to shake off before we see the playmaker we know and love once more.

Low-scoring Cards

Despite the offensive weapons on both sides, I fancy this game to be a relatively low-scoring affair. Eight of the Cardinals’ last ten games have resulted in the under being hit and, with the bar being set at 44.5 points this time around, I think it’s unlikely that two inconsistent offences will score that highly.

The Saints are averaging 23.5 points per game, while Arizona are scoring 19 points per match so far this year and have now lost a key offensive player in Hollywood Brown.

This isn’t to mention New Orleans’ two crack linebackers - Pete Werner, who is the league’s solo tackles leader on the year with 42, and Demario Davis, who has four sacks (the same number as Aaron Donald) this season.

The ‘Honey Badger’, Tyrann Mathieu, is also back to face his former side. He’ll be hoping to add to his one interception this season as he lines up against his old teammate Kyler Murray, who’s thrown four picks so far. Also play the Saints against the spread in what should be a closely fought game.