Packers-Cardinals Preview: ‘A Great Test For Our Football Team’

The Green Bay Packers (3-2) will battle the Arizona Cardinals (2-3) at Lambeau Field on Sunday, with both teams trying to build on last week’s road victory.

Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner scores a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers in 2021. / Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals are set to face off on Sunday at Lambeau Field in a key NFC matchup. Both teams are coming off big road wins, making this a crucial game as they try to build momentum with the midpoint of the season approaching.

The Packers, with their strong rushing attack and improving defense, will look to defend their home turf, while the Cardinals, led by Kyler Murray and their dynamic offense, will aim for another big road upset. With both teams eager to start a winning streak, this game should be a great showdown.

Historically, the Cardinals have struggled at Lambeau Field. Their one and only win at the stadium came during their last trip, in 2018. They’ve split the last four matchups, with Rasul Douglas’ end-zone interception clinching Green Bay’s 24-21 victory in the last meeting.

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Green Bay enters this game as the top team in the league for takeaways, offsetting its No. 21 ranking in total defense. The Cardinals were plus-2 in their big upset victory over the 49ers last week, so winning the turnover battle will be crucial.

On the other side, Arizona's offense has been improving. While not elite – they’re 14th in yards per game – they scored 41 against the Rams and beat the 49ers with a pair of monster fourth-quarter drives. 

Led by quarterback Kyler Murray, they have enough explosive talent to put up a fight. Receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. (first round, 2024) and Michael Wilson (third round, 2023) and tight end Trey McBride (second round, 2022) provide three young, high-quality targets, and James Conner is a bruising, 233-pound running back.

This week, the Packers are hopeful to welcome back All-Pro corner Jaire Alexander to the secondary after he missed the last two games. In his absence, safety Xavier McKinney continued his dominating start to the season. He is the reigning NFC Defensive Player of the Week after recording one interception, two passes defensed, three tackles and a fumble recovery against the Rams.

When asked why McKinney is so difficult to deal with, quarterback Jordan Love said, “He does a great job just playing the post. He can read the concepts well and understand where the quarterback’s looking, and then he just does a great job playing off the quarterback, reading our feet, things like that. When the ball’s in the air, he makes plays.”

McKinney has been everywhere during a historic start to his debut season. With Alexander’s return, the Packers' secondary will be even more formidable.

The Packers are hopeful to get receivers Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson back on the field, as well.

Doubs was suspended by the team for skipping the final two practices last week but practiced on Wednesday.

“I think two days isn’t going to ruin the three years of work and commitment he’s put in for us,” Watson said.

Waton’s return for Sunday is much more uncertain following a high-ankle sprain sustained against the Vikings, but he did practice as limited participation on Wednesday.

“I think it’s a great sign,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “Just to have him out there. We all know what he brings to our offense. We missed him last weekend. So, we’re really excited to get him back there and, hopefully, he continues to progress, and we’ll see where he’s at on game day.”

The Cardinals suffered a major loss with right guard Will Hernandez suffering a season-ending knee injury against the 49ers. With right tackle Jonah Williams on injured reserve and fill-in right tackle Kelvin Beachum battling a hamstring injury, the Cardinals’ line is in flux.

However, there’s some good news as they welcome back wide receiver Zay Jones, who returns after serving a five-game suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy. 

Jones, a versatile, big-bodied receiver who caught a career-high 82 passes last year, could fill the third wide receiver spot they've been missing, playing both in the slot and outside. Expect to see him splitting some reps with Greg Dortch in the slot, offering a target for contested catches.

A key for the Cardinals will be establishing a strong ground game with Murray and Conner. Murray is averaging a league-best 10.7 yards per carry and Conner is on pace to rush for almost 1,300 yards.

“He’s a beast,” LaFleur said of Conner. “He’s a big, physical back who's more elusive than you'd expect for a bigger guy."

LaFleur also highlighted the challenge of containing Murray.

“Whether it’s a zone read that he takes to the house for 50 yards [like he did against San Francisco], or just trying to contain him in the passing game, you’ve got to defend for a long time when he’s got the ball in his hands because he can throw within the timing of the play or he can go off-schedule.”

This will be another game in which the Packers’ pass rush will be in containment mode because Murray will use his elite speed to take advantage of undisciplined rush lanes.

“You’ve got to be smart when you’re going against a quarterback of this caliber in terms of he can make you look really silly really fast,” LaFleur said. “And if you give him huge rush lanes, he’s going to take advantage of it. Like I said, he can beat you with his legs, he can beat you with his arm. I think he’s got a lot of talented players around him.

“I think they’re really doing a nice job, so it’s going to be a great test for our football team.”

More Green Bay Packers News

Christian Watson, rather incredibly, was back at practice for the #Packers yesterday.

Here was the Wednesday injury report. ⬇️https://t.co/BKIw6zr0Bo

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 10, 2024

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