We continue the countdown to the start of the Arizona Cardinals' regular season. Today, Sunday, August 23, is 21 days away from the Arizona Cardinals' regular-season opener on Sept. 13 on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers.
With 21 days until Week 1, let's look back at the 2021 season for the Cardinals.
A look back at the 2021 season for the Cardinals
The 2021 season was both great and disappointing. They started the season 7-0, scoring over 30 points in six of those games and holding opponents to 20 or fewer points six times.
Quarterback Kyler Murray played the first half of the season at an MVP level and was the favorite. However, he injured his ankle in Week 8 and missed three games. Running backs James Conner and Chase Edmonds did not play together in a game over the second half of the season.
Defensive lineman J.J. Watt missed the final nine regular-season games with a shoulder injury and DeAndre Hopkins missed seven games.
The defense, which was stellar for the first half of the season, faltered with injuries. The offensive line struggled.
They lost four of their final five games but still finished 11-5 and made the playoffs, but they were blown out 34-11 in the wild card round by the eventual Super bowl champion Los Angeles Rams.
The end-of-season spiral they had carried over into 2022 and they haven't had a winning season since.
2021 individual honors, leaders
The Cardinals had four Pro Bowlers in 2021:
- QB Kyler Murray
- RB James Conner
- OLB Chander Jones
- S Budda Baker
Baker was also a second-team All-Pro.
Murray passed for 3,787 yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, and he rushed for five other scores.
Conner had 15 rushing touchdowns and 18 total touchdowns, rushing for 752 yards.
Christian Kirk led the team in receiving with 77 receptions for 982 yards. Zach Ertz's 56 catches with the team after being acquired via trade, tied a franchise single-season record for receptions by a tight end. That has since been broken three times by Trey McBride.
Cornerback Byron Murphy led the team with four interceptions on defense and 12 pass breakups. Baker had three picks and seven pass breakups. Markus Golden had 11 sacks and Chandler Jones had 10.5 and forced six fumbles.
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: 21 days till Arizona Cardinals' opener: Remembering the 2021 season
