Packer Central

Packers-Cardinals: Live Updates

The Green Bay Packers (3-2) and Arizona Cardinals (2-3) will battle on Sunday at Lambeau Field. Follow along all day for the latest from this key NFC battle.

Bill Huber

The scene at Lambeau Field for Packers-Cardinals.
The scene at Lambeau Field for Packers-Cardinals. / Bill Huber/Packers On SI
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals will battle on a chilly and potentially rainy Sunday at Lambeau Field.

Follow along all day for updates.

First Quarter

Packers 0, Cardinals 0 (11:26 remaining)

The Cardinals went three-and-out, with Quay Walker’s tackle for loss on second down and Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison not on the same page on third down. The Packers will start at Arizona’s 44, with Jayden Reed breaking one tackle on the punt return and a 15-yard penalty tacked on because of Joey Blount’s facemask penalty.

The Packers’ starting secondary was Jaire Alexander and Keisean Nixon at cornerback and Xavier McKinney and Javon Bullard at safety. In nickel on third-and-9, it was Alexander and Eric Stokes at corner, Nixon in the slot, and McKinney and Evan Williams at safety.

Packers 0, Cardinals 0 (12:58 remaining)

The Packers picked up one first down but stalled on third-and-5, when the Cardinals sent six and Jordan Love overthrew Dontayvion Wicks against tight coverage by Garrett Williams. Romeo Doubs’ first snap was the fourth play of the game. Daniel Whelan’s punt bounced out of bounds at the 8.

Let’s set the table with some pregame notes.

Lineup Note

With a full-strength secondary, how will Green Bay line up? In the base defense to start warmups, the Packers went with Jaire Alexander and Keisean Nixon as the corners and Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams as the safeties.

Said defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley of Williams: “He’s a very intelligent person. I think one of the biggest things he’s done to put himself in the situation that he’s in now and having a bigger role is he’s starting to learn how to study the game more, and he’s starting to understand how serious you need to take it because when those opportunities come you have to be ready for it.”

Big Test in the Backfield

Cardinals running back James Conner is the rare running back who seems to get better with age. Last year, in Year 7 in the NFL, he had his first 1,000-yard season (1,040 yards). Now, at age 29, he is seventh with 379 rushing yards – a pace of 1,289 for the season.

Conner will be a big test. Pun intended. At 233 pounds, he’s one of the biggest backs in the league. Of 50 running backs with at least 30 carries, he is second in 10-yard runs (12), sixth in forced missed tackles (18) and 19th in yards after contact per carry (3.26), according to Pro Football Focus).

“Conner, he’s a beast,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “He’s a big physical back that is more elusive than he leads on for a bigger guy.”

The Action Report

Some game notes from The Action Network’s Evan Abrams:

- Teams coming to Green Bay after a road game the previous week are 7-15-1 against the spread over the last decade. The Packers are 5 1/2-point favorites at DraftKings.

- Among all quarterbacks with at least 80 passing attempts, Jordan Love is last in the NFL with a 56.1 percent completion percentage. Over the last five years, Love’s completion percentage this year is third-lowest among passers with his 114 attempts through Week 5. Baker Mayfield in 2022 was the worst (54.9) and Love last year was second-worst (55.6).

- However, the Cardinals are 31st with opposing quarterbacks completing 72.5 percent of their passes.

- The Cardinals rallied for a big road upset last week at San Francisco. The last three seasons, teams are 11-27 after facing the Niners.

Packers-Cardinals Inactives

There is just one injury-related absence for Green Bay.

The Big Matchup

The Packers must neutralize perennial Pro Bowl safety Budda Baker.

Xavier McKinney Leads the Pick Parade

Last week, Xavier McKinney became the first player since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger with an interception in each of his first five games with a new team and tied the Packers’ franchise record for longest streak with an interception (Irv Comp, 1943).

“I don’t want to wish no bad luck on him, man, but I told him if he gets two more, he might as well call it off Defensive Player of the Year,” running back Josh Jacobs said. “The way he’s playing right now, the things that he’s doing, it’s crazy. It’s crazy.

“It’s so crazy for me because I seen him since his first day in college to now and I’m just proud of him. All the work that he puts in, he’s very intentional. He’s definitely that alpha in that room and on that defense. He’s one of them guys that’s going to come in and he’s going to be mad if guys aren’t meeting his standard and meeting the standard that we set as a team, and he holds everybody accountable. You’ve got to love that.”

McKinney, the NFC’s reigning Defensive Player of the Week, has intercepted a pass in six consecutive games, dating to his two-pick game with the Giants in last year’s finale. It’s the sixth-longest streak in NFL history behind Tom Morrow’s eight-game run more than 60 years ago.

“I try not to dwell on it too much,” McKinney said. “I think these are things I’ll celebrate after the season’s over with. Right now, my focus is just on being present for my team and my teammates and trying to be the best version of myself that I can be. And if I’m soaking in, ‘Oh, I did this,’ that ain’t going to help us as a team and as a defense.

“So, I’m just trying each and every week, if I do something, celebrate it 24 hours and we’re on to the next.”

Cardinals Have Streak, Too

No team in the NFL starts faster than the Cardinals, who have scored a touchdown on all five of their game-opening drives this season.

When Kyler Murray raced 50 yards for a touchdown last week against the 49ers, the Cardinals became the first team since 1993 with a touchdown drive to start each of their first five games.

If they find the end zone against the Packers to start the game, they will join the 2016 Atlanta Falcons as the only team with six consecutive game-opening touchdown drives since 2000.

Green Bay’s defense has given up two game-opening touchdown drives this year, including two weeks ago at home against the Vikings.

What Channel for Packers-Cardinals?

TV: Fox, with Kevin Kugler, analyst Daryl Johnston and sideline reporter Laura Okmin.

Is the game on TV where you live?: Yes, for most of the country. Here is the broadcast map from 506 Sports.

Radio: Here’s the list of Packers Radio Network stations, featuring Wayne Larrivee and Larry McCarren on the call.

Sports USA’s national broadcast will feature Josh Appel and former NFL and Wisconsin running back James White.

Packers-Cardinals Vitals

Where: Lambeau Field.

Date and time: Sunday at noon.

Records: The Packers are 3-2 and the Cardinals are 2-3. The Packers trailed the Rams 13-7 late in the first half before beating the Rams. The Cardinals snapped the 49ers’ 38-game winning streak when winning by 10-plus points in the fourth quarter.

Coaches: Green Bay – Matt LaFleur (59-29, sixth season). Arizona – Jonathan Gannon (6-16, second season).

Weather: According to WBAY-TV, it will be 50 degrees with a 100 percent chance of rain at kickoff.

The line: The Packers are 5.5-point favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook with an over/under of 47.5.

Power rankings: In Packers On SI’s Consensus NFL Power Rankings, the Packers come in at eighth this week. The Cardinals’ average spot in our eight-rankings survey is 19.6.

Majik-al History

The Cardinals had lost all six games at Lambeau Field before beating the Packers in 2018.

It’s been forever, relatively speaking, since the Cardinals faced a Packers team not led by Aaron Rodgers or Brett Favre. In fact, as noted in the Cardinals’ game preview, it’s been 12,384 days since Don Majkowski started for Green Bay in a 1990 matchup against the Phoenix Cardinals.   

Actually, though, it was Anthony Dilweg who led the Packers to victory. Coming off the bench, he threw fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Clarence Weathers and Ed West.

More Green Bay Packers News

Josh Jacobs’ bizarre NFL record | Three reasons why Packers will lose to Cardinals | Three reasons why Packers will beat Cardinals | These teams excel at big plays | Packers-Cardinals Friday injury report | Romeo Doubs speaks | NFC North power rankings | A lot of options in the secondary | Packers-Cardinals keys to the game | Packers-Cardinals game preview | Christian Watson on Romeo Doubs | Packers-Cardinals: What you need to know | NFC North is best division | On SI NFL Power Rankings | Packers-Cardinals matchups 

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.