Cardinals: Three Storylines to Follow at Broncos

There are things to watch for as the Arizona Cardinals square off against the Denver Broncos in Week 15.

The writing is on the wall for the 2022 Arizona Cardinals, who are 4-9 and quarterback Kyler Murray was lost for the rest of the season with a torn ACL in Week 14.

Nevertheless, Arizona will go on the road to face the Denver Broncos on Sunday. The Broncos also saw their starting quarterback, Russell Wilson, go down with an injury last week. On Friday, Denver declared Wilson (concussion) out for Week 15 as Brett Rypien will get the start. 

Both teams will trot out backup quarterbacks. Similar to Arizona, Denver is in a lost year. They are 3-10 and average a league-worst 14.9 points per game.

Here are three Cardinals storylines to watch as the action unfolds at Empower Field at Mile High: 

Vance Joseph's Homecoming to Denver

Joseph was the Broncos' head coach from 2017-18, but was fired after suffering 5-11 and 6-10 seasons. He was hired as a defensive coordinator by the Cardinals in 2019 and will get to face his former team for the first time on Sunday.

For the 50-year-old Joseph, it's just another regular-season game. 

“I don’t have a lot of feelings about it,” Joseph said after Thursday’s walk-through practice. “It’s the next game for the Cardinals. My focus is simply playing good defense and trying to get a win. It’s been a long month for us and winning is our focal point right now. That’s my only focus.”

Joseph has been with Arizona for four seasons and has experienced ups and downs. But in 2022, the Cardinals have given up a league-high 26.8 points per game. The team is a bottom-10 passing defense, which lets up 243.8 yards per game to opponents. Arizona has only held three opponents below 20 points all season.

The Cardinals defense had a chance to get back on track against the New England Patriots in Week 14. But the Patriots totaled 328 yards on offense after not posting over 300 yards in four of the previous five games.

Unfortunately for Cardinals, the defensive could potentially be without Zach Allen, Byron Murphy and Antonio Hamilton.

Still, it will be extremely telling if Arizona can't get right against Denver, who ranks as one of the worst offenses in football.

Colt McCoy Auditioning for 2023 Opening-Day Starter Role

With Murray's status heading into next season in flux, the conversation will be about if McCoy can be the Cardinals' starting quarterback in Week 1.

The 36-year-old McCoy told reporters that he's playing for now.

"I love to play football," McCoy said. "If I didn't think I could still play, I wouldn't be here. I'm going to go out there, put a smile on my face, have some fun, lead these men and try and win these last four games."

McCoy has started two games this season and is poised to play in the team's final four games. He hasn't eclipsed 6 starts in a season since 2011, when he was with the Cleveland Browns.

In the three games he's played, McCoy has yet to throw for over 250 yards in a game and has thrown one touchdown to two interceptions. He's done so attempting 40, 34 and 37 passes in each game.

Denver's defense is among the NFL's best as opponents average 18.3 points per game, the fourth-fewest in the NFL. 

It'll be key for Arizona to have McCoy throw at a comfortable rate and letting James Conner — who's ran for 205 yards in the last two games — become an even bigger factor.  And when the passing game is involved, that DeAndre Hopkins and Marquise Brown get the lions share of targets.

Peaking Ahead at Future Draft Order

Arizona is done in terms of playoff hopes in 2022. While they are officially eliminated, if the season ended today, the Cardinals would have the No. 6 overall pick in the first round.

The Cardinals have lost three in a row. If the Cardinals lose in Week 15, there is a world in which they pick at No. 2. In that scenario, the Broncos, Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Rams and New Orleans Saints would have to win. 

According to ESPN's FPI, the Cardinals have an overwhelming  92.2% chance of earning a top-10 pick and a 53% chance to earn a top-five pick. For those holding out hope on getting the No. 1 pick, FPI has them with a 0.6% chance to earn that.

At 4-9, the team will officially finish under .500 for the first time since head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s and quarterback Kyler Murray’s rookie years at their respective positions in 2019.

It's time to start to looking at the mock drafts, Cardinals fans. 

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