This Sunday has all the makings of a trap game. The Texans have won five games in a row and most of them over other teams looking to go to the playoffs. These next two games might give you a chance to breathe, but the Texans are still in must win mode. Seth Cox has been doing yeoman work at Revenge of the Birds. The Cardinals are in the same position the Texans were before DeMeco Ryans came to town. Beyond the head coach, quarterback is most important position on the field. That is where our conversation
began.
Battle Red Blog: Kyler Murray is obviously out for the season, but his future is very much in doubt. Has he played his last snap for the Cardinals? If so, what direction do you see them going at quarterback?
Seth Cox: Yeah, Murray is done with the Arizona Cardinals, barring an ownership change, in which case I would still assume he is done.
Where do they go? Well there is a reason they are trying to make it seem like Jacoby Brissett is lighting the league on fire.
Sure, those counting stats are really beautiful, but they can’t score the last three weeks, and they don’t do much on offense to win games. And now the defense looks like absolute garbage, so things are going well.
BRB: Jonathan Gannon was one of the hot coordinators when he was hired and seemed to get off to a good start. Does he survive this season?
SC: The thought a couple of weeks ago was yes he would. However, the fact that in their last three division games they have been outscored 130-61 (that is 43-20 per game) and look like not just the worst team in the division, but among the worst teams in the NFL, it seems like he has to get a couple of more wins to be retained.
I think if the defense wasn’t so bad in the division then things would be a little different, but the fact that now the defense looks like they are further away than they were in year one, it makes retaining Gannon a harder proposition.
BRB: How has the offense looked with Jacoby Brisset at the helm in comparison with Murray?
SC: Umm, it really depends on what you subscribe to in terms of what matters?
Jacoby is obviously throwing for more yards per game, and has 15 touchdowns to only 5 interceptions in his eight games.
Yet, in all of the efficiency stuff, Jacoby is not looked at as well as Kyler.
Jacoby has done a nice job of putting up big passing numbers, but the unfortunate thing is that it hasn’t really resulted in anything in the win column, which is… not ideal if they really are going to run him back as the starter in 2026.
BRB: The NFC West is one of the toughest divisions in sports. Which team do you think ends up on top? Which divisional opponent do Cardinals fans love to beat the most?
SC: The Rams, they are just different, especially different than what you guys saw in week one, which obviously even though your phenomenal defense did a good job, they still somehow won. Yet, now their offense looks insane, and their defense is getting to the point where you don’t know how good they can get. Not saying they’ll get to where the Texans elite defense is, but it won’t be too far off.
I think right now it is the Niners, but the reality is they would love to be any of them consistently at this point, because it is embarrassing to be this bad in year three of the rebuild.
BRB: Fanduel has the Texans as 9.5 point favorites. How do you see the game going? Are there any prop bets you feel comfortable recommending?
I am shocked… Shocked that the over/under is trending towards the over 42.5, but the Cardinals team total is less than 16.5 (at least that is where the money is trending).
So, people don’t think the Cardinals have a chance (they don’t) and they think that 9.5 is a little low. I think the Texans win 28-10, and it wouldn’t shock me if the Texans hit the shutout if they stay aggressive through all four quarters.
If they get up by five plus touchdowns, and call off the dogs in the third quarter, the Cardinals with Jacoby are definitely getting 14 or 17 points baby! Ain’t no one slowing them down when the other team goes to the prevent!
Good luck, and good health to the Texans in this one. Please don’t be too mean to those poor Cardinals.
We remember being in Seth’s shoes not too long ago. Going through a seventeen game schedule is brutal when your team isn’t doing well. However, the Cardinals have some good players and they are certainly more than capable of coming up and shocking the Texans. We want to thank Seth for his time and for answering our questions and we want to wish him and the Cardinals the best of luck for the remainder of the season. As per usual, we hope that luck begins on Monday morning.
