Cardinals Gameday: Play Like You Have Nothing to Lose

The Arizona Cardinals can't wait to get to their bye week - why not let everything out of the bag when the Los Angeles Chargers visit town?

Donnie Druin | Nov 27, 2022

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Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are just 4-7 heading into Week 12's meeting with the Los Angeles Chargers.

There's been plenty of talk about what's gone wrong for the Cardinals: Injuries. DeAndre Hopkins' suspension. Lack of execution and poor arrangement by coaches to put their players in the best positions to be successful.

All of those factors have combined to form the perfect (insert word) storm that has followed the Cardinals since Week 1, and as Arizona sees the light at the end of the tunnel, 2022 will ultimately provide a "what could have been feeling" for Arizona.

This is discounting a very improbable turnaround for the Cardinals, who could very well put themselves out of reach for the postseason with a loss at State Farm Stadium later today.

In a week where the Cardinals absolutely need a win to establish any momentum moving forward, all the chips must be pushed towards the middle of the table. Everything, from here on out, is on the line.

In an attempt to make absolutely no sense at all, that's exactly why Arizona needs to play like they have nothing to lose.

Kyler Murray and Marquise Brown are back in the fold. We've waited the entire season for the trio of Murray-Hopkins-Brown to come to fruition, and now that day has arrived.

There's been a clear tension among this group during this losing season - mostly because they know they're better than their record shows. They've gotten off to extremely slow starts almost the entire year, displaying some tightness to begin games.

Murray and Kingsbury have gotten into plenty sideline disagreements caught on camera. Last week, Budda Baker said he didn't feel like the entire team played hard until the end.

Against the likes of Justin Herbert, who plays on a Chargers team that mirrors Arizona in plenty of ways, those things simply can't happen.

So, before the bye week arrives and the team is allowed a week of rest, the time has come to for Kingsbury to unleash whatever he's been hiding in that bag of his. The talent is out there. The opportunity against a 5-5 football team is out there.

Most fans believe the team has been held back by Kingsbury. He can silence a lot of those doubts today by piecing together a strong script (similar to what he did in Los Angeles against the Rams) and putting the onus on players to hold their end of the deal.

If the Cardinals are talented like they show, fans will have no problem supporting their efforts. Take some shots. Get creative. Allow your playmakers the opportunity to make plays.

Even though it feels as if a loss would officially bury any hope moving forward, playing free and with nothing to lose, with such a talented team, might be the key that unlocks the potential to the Cardinals.

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