Game overview:
You look at the score and if you knew Patrick Mahomes played three series…then you are not shocked at all by the final score.
You wanna know a dirty secret from this game? The Cardinals were outplaying the Chiefs 1st-team v. 1st-team, on both sides of the ball from the start. Mahomes played three series and the Cards countered with the great Colt McCoy against him…and the Cardinals were better/more energized for the first 2 series and then maybe a draw or lean KC third series, since that’s when KC scored the game’s first TD.
I need you to know -- the Cardinals might be the best bad team in the league. Or definitely not the worst team in the league…yet. They may tank in-season with various trade offs (a la the Bears 2022), but right now they seem to be playing like they think they’ve got a shot at the Super Bowl, and no one has informed them otherwise that they have no chance.
Last week, the Cards went out and punched Denver in the mouth and totally outplayed them…in part, because the Broncos are bad…but theoretically weren’t supposed to be as bad as the Cardinals. Arizona took to Denver last week.
Arizona was kinda taking it to KC this week…energized, hard-hitting defense that made KC flinch a little bit. The Chiefs are MUCH more talented than Arizona, obviously, and the gap of Mahomes v. McCoy is Grand Canyon-esque, but within all that…Arizona was tougher and scrappier off the jump and caught KC off guard. Two weeks in a row, the Cardinals were a scrappy-bully team that surprised their opponents.
But the Cardinals have no depth, so after a 7-0 KC lead after the 1st-quarter, Mahomes left the game and so did McCoy and his first team…but KC kept in some starters on both sides with the backup QBs and eventually a 7-0 KC lead, in a somewhat tussle, became a 31-7 KC lead. Even within the 31-7 lead, at one point, there was a lot of good Arizona play and some unluckiness against them…and KC is just very deep and good.
If you think the Cardinals are the worst team in the NFL…you’re wrong. Denver, who Arizona virtually embarrassed last week, is worse and Carolina is worse than all of them. I’m not saying the Cardinals won’t finish with 3-4-5 wins, but I would not bet them UNDER 4.5 wins…nor would I wanna bet them OVER, but if I had to choose…I’d take the OVER based on their preseason energy and tape.
Scouting Notes from the game:
-- Patrick Mahomes (10-15 for 105 yards, 1 TD/0 INT) started and played those three series and he looked fine, but Arizona’s aggression and spunk threw him for a bit of a loop and KC started having undisciplined penalties off of it…I think taken aback by Arizona’s fire. Also, it didn’t help that KC rotated in several WRs (as they do) and the rookies/backup WRs dropped some passes. We will get into more detail on the non-QBs for KC in a bit.
The 2nd-team for KC came in, and I was like ‘damn, Gabbert’s got an arm…he’s throwing rockets!’ It took me 2-3 throws before I realized the 2nd QB in the game was Shane Buechele (10-10 for 105 yards, 0 TD/0 INT)! All he did was complete every pass he threw…but to be fair, the Arizona 2nd-team defense came in and their 2nd-team CBs are trash. Still, Buechele is really coming along as an NFL QB. I think they put Buechele in second here to get him some time with the 1st-team surroundings.
Blaine Gabbert (7-8 for 120 yards, 2 TDs/0 INT) entered as the third QB and lit up the weak Arizona backup defense. He is the #2…and someone you have to consider if you’re locked into Mahomes for FF 2023, especially in deeper roster situations.
-- OK, the KC receiver notes…
Rashee Rice (8-96-0/9) started, for a snap, but was in a lot throughout. He dropped his first pass from Mahomes. He made up for it from there. Rice looks very average to me, but KC is treating him like he’s the next coming. I have to stay vigilant on Rice, because regardless of what I think is…what Andy Reid and Mahomes think. Still, I don’t see it.
KC was doing the rotation thing right away, the two more constants (with Mahomes) seemed to be Kelce and Skyy Moore (2-6-0/2) but Mahomes looked like he was purposefully working the other/lesser guys, but Arizona kept being pesky so Moore saw a couple targets…he looks the best of the WRs.
Justyn Ross (2-18-0/4) keeps getting pushed by the local (and national) media as ‘a thing’ (they remember from Clemson at one time) but I also don’t see ‘it’ here. He looks like the 6-7-8th best WR they have. I bet they roster him because of all the media noise they won’t be able to hide him on the practice squad.
-- The KC RB notes…
Part of the reason why Arizona was effective in thwarting the KC offense at first was the Clyde Edwards-Helaire (4-10-0, 2-8-0/2) effect. CEH was not much for the quicker, more energetic Cardinals D. CEH has to go…
Pacheco and McKinnon will start. And we could see Pacheco some next week…pray it is brief and muted, so his ADP doesn’t soar.
UDFA RB Deneric Prince (6-20-1, 1-2-0/1) has likely forced his way onto this team…but the RB who is working over him right now, and looking better than Prince is forgotten LaMical Perine (6-41-0, 1-6-0/1). Prince and Perine may have accelerated KC deciding to trade CEH instead of keeping him around.
I think CEH is weak enough, mediocre enough that KC would normally cut him…but I know they don’t want Cincy to have any shot at him, so I think they will do a trade that is basically giving him away…and it will be to an NFC team and/or a KC coaching tree team to help them out.
CEH would be a fit with the Giants running the cc-KCO (copycat KC offense)…and because NYG has little RB depth. If CEH is dumped and it’s not to NYG, then you know something is wrong with CEH that we all aren’t privy to, and KC won’t do this to their friends…and the friends would already know it anyway (like NYG O-C Kafka from KC).
If a friendly trade by KC, it’s gonna be to NYG or maybe Washington.
If it’s a dump -- Minnesota or Carolina are suckers in play.
-- OK, time to talk about Arizona…let’s start with the QBs…
Colt McCoy (5-8 for 25 yards, 0 TD/0 INT) is gonna start Week 1…and be, arguably, the weakest starting QB to face for your DST (WSH). He looked like Colt McCoy here…a limited game manager.
McCoy started here and played a few series with the 1s. Who are ‘the 1s’ at WR? Well, Arizona began with two WR sets, and the two starters were:
1: Marquise Brown (1-12-0/2)…his debut and he looked normal, to me. All good. Just…Colt McCoy. He needs Kyler back.
2: SURPRISE…the #2 opening day starter at WR looks like it will be Michael Wilson (0-0-0/0). He looked good…blocking. He saw no targets, but he was with Marquise/the starters most every 1st-team snap.
When they went to a three WR set, Rondale Moore (2-7-0/3) was in…and McCoy and him have a thing, like Kyler-Marquise do.
Greg Dortch (1-10-0/3) is the #4 WR…and I’m slashing his projections after I type this.
-- James Conner (2-15-0) is the obvious #1 RB, but the #2 seems to be confirmed: Keaontay Ingram (7-28-1, 2-20-0/3). Ingram is big/tough and plodding, but it works on occasion. He played about as well as he could here. The clear #2 right now.
