Usually, the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals would meet only every fourth year as part of the NFL’s schedule rotation. However, with the league moving to a 17-game format starting in 2021, the AFC East and NFC West teams have gotten relatively familiar to one another: Sunday’s meeting will be their third since 2020.
Of course, with change a constant in pro football, the 2024 version of both teams is looking quite different from two or four years ago — both on the field and on the sidelines. With that being said, let’s take a closer look at the Patriots’ upcoming opponent.
Cardinals 2024 stats
Playing in a tightly-contested division, the Cardinals have played some competitive but at-times mediocre football. Their 6-7 record is reflective of this, as is a closer look at some of their key stats:
Record: 6-7 (3rd NFC West)
Offense: 21.8 points/game (18th), 348.0 yards/game (12th), 0.040 EPA/play (13th)
Defense 22.2 points/game (13th), 340.5 yards/game (20th), 0.047 EPA/play (22nd)
Scoring differential: -5 (18th)
Turnover differential: -3 (19th)
Frankly, the team of head coach Jonathan Gannon does not stand out in any one of those categories. When we dig a bit deeper, however, we can see that there are certain areas of success on both sides of the ball.
Offensively, for example, Arizona is ranked top-10 in both total rushing yards (1,818; 6th) as well as yards per carry (5.2; 3rd). The unit also operates in similar spheres when it comes to drive averages, with the time (2:58; 5th), plays (6.36; 5th) and yards (36.0; 6th) per drive numbers all quite good in a league-wide comparison.
The defense, meanwhile, has been solid when it comes to preventing passing touchdowns (15; 9th). However, that unit in particular has had its issues despite out-ranking the offense in the all-important points per game category.
Cardinals 2024 season
Entering Week 15 as the owners of a 6-7 record, the Cardinals’ season very much has been of the up-and-down variety.
Week 1: 34-28 loss at Buffalo Bills
Week 2: 41-10 win vs. Los Angeles Rams
Week 3: 20-13 loss vs. Detroit Lions
Week 4: 42-14 loss vs. Washington Commanders
Week 5: 24-23 win at San Francisco 49ers
Week 6: 34-13 loss at Green Bay Packers
Week 7: 17-15 win vs. Los Angeles Chargers
Week 8: 28-27 win at Miami Dolphins
Week 9: 29-9 win vs. Chicago Bears
Week 10: 31-6 win vs. New York Jets
Week 11: Bye
Week 12: 16-6 loss at Seattle Seahawks
Week 13: 23-22 loss at Minnesota Vikings
Week 14: 30-18 loss vs. Seattle Seahawks
A few things quickly stand out when looking at Arizona’s season so far. For one, the team has played some tightly contested games — three of their contests were decided by a single point — while also being quite streaky: the Cardinals entered their Week 11 bye as winners of four straight, but have since lost all three of their games.
Cardinals updated 53-man roster
(Note: Roster up-to-date as of Dec. 11, 5 a.m. ET; *indicates projected starter)
Quarterback (2): Kyler Murray* (1), Clayton Tune (19)
Running back (4): James Conner* (6), Trey Benson (33), Emari Demercado (31), DeeJay Dallas (20 | KR)
Wide receiver (6): Marvin Harrison Jr.* (18), Michael Wilson* (14), Zay Jones* (17), Greg Dortch (4 | PR), Zach Pascal (0), Xavier Weaver (89)
Tight end (4): Trey McBride* (85), Tip Reiman (87), Elijah Higgins (84), Travis Vokolek (81)
Offensive tackle (4): Paris Johnson Jr.* (70 | LT), Jonah Williams* (73 | RT), Kelvin Beachum (68), Christian Jones (75)
Interior offensive line (5): Evan Brown* (62 | LG), Hjalte Froholdt* (72 | C), Trystan Colon* (63 | RG), Isaiah Adams (74), Jon Gaines II (59)
Interior defensive line (6): L.J. Collier* (91), Dante Stills* (55), Roy Lopez* (98), Khyiris Tonga (95), Naquan Jones (96), Darius Robinson (56)
Defensive edge (6): Zaven Collins* (25), Baron Browning (53), Julian Okwara (58), Jesse Luketa (43), Xavier Thomas (54), Victor Dimukeje (52)
Linebacker (4): Kyzir White* (7), Mack Wilson Sr.* (2), Krys Barnes (51), Owen Pappoe (44)
Cornerback (5): Starling Thomas V* (24), Sean Murphy-Bunting* (23), Garrett Williams* (21), Max Melton (16), Kei’Trel Clark (13)
Safety (4): Budda Baker* (3), Jalen Thompson* (34), Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (42), Joey Blount (32)
Specialists (3): Chad Ryland (38 | K), Blake Gillikin (12 | P | H), Aaron Brewer (46 | LS)
The last time Cardinals starting quarterback Kyler Murray played the Patriots, he tore his ACL in the first quarter. Two years later, he will get another crack at their defense on the back of a solid if not necessarily spectacular season.
In 13 starts this year, the former first overall draft pick has gone 271-of-396 (68.4%) for 2,862 yards with 15 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Additionally, he has managed to gain 453 rushing yards on 51 non-kneel-down carries for an impressive average of 8.9 yards per run; he also is tied for fifth among NFL quarterbacks with 4 rushing touchdowns.
The big name standing out from his supporting cast is first-round rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who the team picked fourth overall in this year’s draft. The first non-quarterback selected, Harrison Jr. has performed at a high level — 45 catches, 655, yards, a team-leading 7 TDs — but he is not the top producer in Arizona’s offense.
That title belongs to James Conner. The versatile running back has carried the football 201 times for 863 yards (4.3/carry) and 5 touchdowns, while also catching 36 passes for 333 yards and another score. His 1,196 scrimmage yards are the most on the team and rank eighth in the NFL.
Also worth mentioning is tight end Trey McBride, who has been Arizona’s leading receiver. Serving as the Cardinals’ main chain mover in the passing game and Murray’s favorite target especially in the open field, the 6-foot-4, 246-pounder has caught 80 passes for 851 yards.
The offensive line, meanwhile, is headed by standout left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. as well as a familiar name: Hjalte Froholdt, a Patriots fourth-round draft pick in 2019, has developed into a solid starting center since his arrival in Arizona last year.
On defense, Arizona has no true standouts from a statistical perspective but plenty of players worth mentioning. It all starts up front with the starting interior duo of L.J. Collier (26) and Dante Stills (18), who are ranked first and third on the team in quarterback pressures.
In between them is outside linebacker and former first-round draft pick Zaven Collins. After starting his career as an off-ball linebacker, Collins has moved to the edge full-time and has found quite a bit of success as a stout run defender and disruptive pass rusher. While his 4 sacks and 24 total pressures do not catch the eye — for comparison, the Patriots’ best pass rusher, Keion White, has 5 and 40 — he can be a problem from either end of the line.
Ex-Patriot Mack Wilson is also worth mentioning. In his first year as a Cardinal, he continues to play a hybrid role moving between an off-ball alignment and the edge on a regular basis.
In the secondary, meanwhile, Budda Baker is the most prominent player. One of the better safeties in football, he is an all-around defensive back capable of playing both in the box and in a deep role. While his ball production is not what it used to be earlier in his career — all he has to his name are three pass breakups — he is a savvy veteran capable of capitalizing on mistakes.
One more player deserves special mention: Chad Ryland. The Patriots’ 2023 fourth-round draft pick was cut by the team after losing his training camp battle to Joey Slye; he has made 19 of 23 field goals (82.6%) as well as all 15 of his extra points.
Cardinals reserve lists
Practice squad (16): WR Andre Baccellia, OT Jackson Barton, QB Anthony Brown, RB Michael Carter, S Andre Chachere, CB Jaden Davis, LB Milo Eifler, DE Anthony Goodlow, OT Charlie Heck, OL Keith Ismael, OL Nick Leverett, DT P.J. Mustipher, WR Tejhaun Palmerr, ED Ben Stille, OT Luka Tenuta, CB Divaad Wilson
Practice squad international (1): TE Bernhard Seikovits
Injured reserve (8): ED Dennis Gardeck, OL Will Hernandez, CB Elijah Jones, DT Justin Jones, DE Bilal Nichols, OT Carter O’Donnell, ED B.J. Ojulari, K Matt Prater
Practice squad injured reserve (1): DE Angelo Blackson
Suspended (1): LB Markus Bailey
There are two players worth mentioning when looking at Arizona’s reserve lists.
The first is offensive lineman Nick Leverett, who started the year with the Patriots but has since been released and signed to the Cardinals practice squad. The other is outside linebacker Dennis Gardeck, who was a productive player for the Cardinals before suffering a torn ACL in Week 7; Gardeck still ranks second on the team in forced fumbles (1) and interceptions (1) as well as fourth in sacks (3) despite missing half the season so far.
Cardinals coaching staff
Head coach: Jonathan Gannon
Coordinators: Drew Petzig (OC), Nick Rallis (DC), Jeff Rodgers (ST)
Shortly after the last Patriots-Cardinals game in 2022, the team fired head coach Kliff Kingsbury. Former Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon was hired as his successor, but he has not been able to turn the team’s fortunes around just yet. After going 4-13 in his first year, Gannon’s team now sits at 6-7 and on the verge of missing the playoffs a second time in his two-year tenure.