In the Arizona Cardinals' 33-30 overtime win over the Dallas Cowboys, 19 players participated in at least one of the 81 offensive snaps.
How was that playing time split up? We have the numbers below.
The first number after each name is their snap count, and the second is the percentage. Players in bold were starters.
Quarterbacks
- Jacoby Brissett (47/58), Gardner Minshew II (34/42)
- Inactive: Carson Beck (emergency third QB)
Minshew Magic rolls on. The offense was stagnant for most of the game, so Minshew replaced Brissett late in the third quarter after first- and second-down sacks that totaled 26 lost yards. The result was stunning as the pass and run game came alive with Minshew throwing three touchdown passes and completing 17-of-23 passes for 188 yards and a 137.3 passer rating. His average per attempt was 8.17 and would be 9.40 without three spikes
in the tying touchdown drive.
Brissett was 10-for-23 for only 119 yards and while he was the victim of several drops, there were numerous high or low passes with many while under pressure. His average per attempt was 5.17.
Notable: Minshew is the first non-starting quarterback in 33 seasons (Bobby Hebert on Sept. 12, 1993 for Atlanta) with at least 175 passing yards, three touchdown passes and no interceptions in the fourth quarter and overtime of a game they didn’t start.
Head coach Mike LaFleur said he made the switch to provide “a spark” and concluded, “I thought his timing was great. I mean, he's had a lot of success in this league and he's about as resilient as they come, too. If you ask Gardner Minshew; he's ready at all times. And I thought the guys made some plays for him, and he was getting the ball out of his hands. Obviously, kind of what unlocked it to start was - it starts with a (seven)-yard completion to Duvernay, and then we obviously have that long run by TA (Tyler Allgeier) right there to just kind of somewhat unlocked and loosened them up. That's why you need explosives and big plays, because it loosens people up.
“But I'm gonna flip it real quick because the defense played awesome, but to end it with three receivers, one running back, and a tackle going down, quarterback change, all those kind of things, and for those guys to continue to battle was unbelievable. I've never seen anything like it from an injury standpoint at a skill position in my life.”
Running backs
- Tyler Allgeier (48/59), Bam Knight (18/22), Jeremiyah Love (15/19)
- Inactive: RB Evan Hull
- Injured reserve: James Conner (eligible to return), Trey Benson
Before Minshew entered the game, Allgeier had three carries for nine yards, but then scored on a 63-yard run on Minshew’s second snap and had a 52-yarder in the fourth quarter. His final eight runs totaled 138 yards, while adding five receptions for 44 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown, two for 19 yards in the tying TD drive and then an 11-yard run and three more for seven that got the ball in manageable position for kicker Chad Ryland’s game-winning 42-yard field goal. His yards from scrimmage totaled 191 yards on 16 touches after a toe injury had him out of practice on Wednesday and limited the next two days, plus needing oxygen on the sideline.
Allgeier was the only back available after Love (nine carries for 23 yards) and Knight (three carries for eight yards) exited the game with injuries. “It was what it was,” LaFleur said. “He couldn't come out, and he knew that. So, he put his cape on and became Superman for us. I'm proud of him because he's a resilient dude. He's exactly what you want.”
Wide receivers
- Michael Wilson (64/79), Simi Fehoko (40/49), Reggie Virgil (38/47), Devin Duvernay (34/42), Kendrick Bourne (25/31)
- Injured reserve: Jalen Brooks (eligible to return, but won’t)
Wilson was a warrior after being limited in practice all week and wearing a yellow non-contact jersey because of what he claimed were sore ribs suffered against the Broncos. He revealed after Sunday’s game that he had two broken ribs and was in a lot of pain. That was evident after several plays when he went to the ground after catches, including the 13-yard, tip-toe at the back of the end zone for the game-tying touchdown with six seconds remaining. In that drive, he also had gains of 21 and 27 yards and then ran 17 yards on third-and-1 in overtime that moved the ball from the Arizona 41-yard line to the Dallas 42. His game total was eight receptions on 15 targets for 111 yards (13.9 average) with 6-for-86 in the second half.
Said Minshew on going to Wilson consistently, "It is trust, man. I was fortunate to have a lot of reps this offseason with him, knowing how he fights (for the) football, knowing how he can win at the top of routes, knowing he's going to be in the right place. You feel good every time you have a one-on-one."
“He's just a stud,” LaFleur said. “He's everything you want. And there's a lot of these guys. We’ve got to figure out how to put this together for 60 minutes and play the game that we are capable of in all three phases. But if you guys knew how much -- we kind of did -- how much pain that Mike was in, and to go out there and do what he did and just continue to battle and have that big run on the third-and-1, I'm proud of him.”
LaFleur also said, “It got to the point where you're just like, you don't even know who you're throwing balls to at that point because you don't know who's mixing and matching, and Mike's hurting and stuff like that. So I'm calling based on the formation, and Simi and Mike are switching themselves at the end right there so Simi can do some of the grimy work because of where Mike was at. Simi's not feeling great either.
“I think you guys can tell I'm at a loss for words in terms of just how I feel for that locker room right now. And I feel for the guys that got hurt because every single one of those guys put their body on the line, and a lot of young guys in there that I'm excited to watch continue to grow. And we'll see what this (injury) list looks like tomorrow once we get back home.”
Tight ends
- Trey McBride (77/95), Elijah Higgins (26/32), Tegan Quitoriano (20/25)
- Did not play: Kenny Yeboah (elevated from practice squad/played only on special teams)
- PUP reserve: Tip Reiman (eligible to practice)
- Injured reserve: Hunter Long (eligible to return after Week 8)
A wide-open McBride scored on a 14-yard play that got the Cardinals to within 27-24 with 2:11 remaining in regulation. He became the third player in NFL history with at least seven receptions in 10 consecutive games, joining Antonio Brown (14 consecutive games from 2014-15 with Pittsburgh) and Cooper Kupp (11 in 2021 with the Los Angeles Rams). Also ...
- McBride has 66 receptions this season, surpassing Zach Ertz (61 receptions in 2018 with Philadelphia) for the most by a tight end in his team’s first eight games of a season in NFL history.
- McBride, who has 413 receptions and 4,019 receiving yards in 74 career games, joins Pro Football Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow Sr. as the only tight ends in NFL history with at least 400 receptions and 4,000 receiving yards in their first 75 career games.
Offensive linemen
- LT Jayden Williams (49/60), LG Isaac Seumalo (81/100), C Hjalte Froholdt (81/100), RG Hayden Conner (81/100), RT Elijah Wilkinson (81/100), LT Josh Fryar (32/40)
- Did not play: T Jedrick Wills Jr., C Kingsley Eguakun (both played only on special teams; Eguakun elevated from practice squad)
- Inactive: G Jon Gaines II (injured), T Albert Reese IV
- Injured reserve: LT Paris Johnson Jr. (eligible to return, but won’t), G Isaiah Adams (eligible to return after Week 8), G Chase Bisontis
The offense became more productive when Fryar replaced Williams, who suffered a knee injury. LaFleur wouldn’t go there, saying, “I got a lot of trust in Jayden Williams. I think he's gonna be a dang good football player in this league. And he's got the right look in his eye, and he's got the right demeanor and the right approach to it. But I have a lot of trust in Fryar, and I know that he doesn't flinch either. So again, it was collective. There were plays to be had in the first half. There were. And there were plays that I could call better, and we’ve got to figure out how to execute for 60 straight minutes, not just turn it on for basically, I guess, that last 30 (actually 23).”
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Arizona Cardinals Week 8 offensive snap counts, observations vs. Cowboys
