Arizona Cardinals star receiver DeAndre Hopkins returns on Thursday night against the New Orleans Saints after serving a six-game ban for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy; watch Saints @ Cardinals live on Sky Sports NFL from 1.15am, Friday morning
Last Updated: 20/10/22 4:58pm
All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins returns for the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night against the New Orleans Saints
Two underachieving teams go head to head on Thursday night in the NFL as the Arizona Cardinals host the New Orleans Saints – both 2-4 through the first six weeks of the season.
“There’s pressure on both teams right here,” former NFL quarterback Chris Simms said on NBC’s Pro Football Talk (Sky Sports NFL, weekdays, 6pm). “Lose this and that’s kind of it, you’re 2-5 and in deep trouble.
“You’ve got maybe one more chance to go on a run.”
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Hopkins’ return a boost for faltering Cardinals
The Cardinals will at least be buoyed by the return of their All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins for their biggest game of the season, having been suspended for their first six games after violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy. They will also have fellow wideout Robbie Anderson suiting up for the first time following his trade from the Carolina Panthers this week.
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Wide receiver Robbie Anderson was removed from the sideline by Carolina Panthers interim head coach Steve Wilks during his last game with the team
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, enthused though he is to have his leading receiver back, is warning against any expectations of a sudden miracle cure for Arizona’s underperforming offense.
“It’s not a miracle [cure] that everything is gone,” Murray said. “We still have things we have to get better at, still things we need to fix.
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Arizona Cardinals’ Kyler Murray keeps a two-point conversion alive brilliantly with a scramble lasting 20 seconds.
Hopkins echoed Murray’s sentiments as he returned to practice for the first time this week. “One person can’t go out and win a game,” he said. “But it does help having someone like myself out there who can dictate how defenses play us.
“Last year was a great example of that and me not having a game over 100 yards, a lot of people saw it of me having a down year. I look at it as a productive year because I got a lot of guys open.
“There are a lot of things that go into a football game more than just fantasy stats or yards.”
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Take a look back at 10 of the best plays from Kyler Murray in the 2021 NFL season.
Hopkins is right. He didn’t didn’t register a 100-yard game in any of Arizona’s first seven games of the 2021 season as the team raced out to a 7-0 start. Unusual for a receiver with 37 career games in triple-digit yards.
Hopkins would ultimately play in only nine games last season due to a hamstring issue before then suffering a season-ending knee injury in December. And the Cardinals, particularly on offense, have badly tailed off in his absence.
Simms: Arizona offense ‘painful to watch’
After starting last season 10-2, Arizona have won just three of their past 12 games – including their 34-11 Wild Card hammering at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs. They’ve also lost their last eight straight home games.
“It has been a struggle. They’re not the same football team,” Simms said. “Their defense is stingy and a pain in the butt. It’s the offense that is pitiful.
“There’s definitely intriguing things about Murray’s game. He has a top notch arm and his speed is real. But life is hard for them – they’re last in the league in yards per play in the pass game. The offense is as dink and dunk as it can ever get. It is too reliant on star players.
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Highlights of the Arizona Cardinals against the Seattle Seahawks from Week Six of the NFL season.
“Not that I’m blown away by their talent, but it’s good enough to have more points, more yards, more explosive plays. They shouldn’t be this.
“They have a spread offense but can’t really make any plays throwing the football – they’re last in the league in yards per play in the pass game.
“The offense has a lot of the [team’s] salary cap and money, and they’re not holding up their end of the deal. It’s painful to watch.”
Whether Hopkins himself has a 100-yard game on Thursday night is almost immaterial. As the five-time Pro Bowl selection said, his mere presence can hopefully break Arizona out of their offensive funk.
Kyler Murray (L) has performed much better when he has DeAndre Hopkins (R) on the field with him for the Arizona Cardinals
There is no doubting that Murray is a better player with him on the football field. In 10 games with Hopkins, Murray has eight wins, averaging 278.2 passing yards per game, with a 71.6 completion percentage and 19 touchdowns to nine interceptions – good enough for a 106.0 passer rating. In 10 games without Hopkins, the QB has tasted defeat seven times, owning a 64.9 completion percentage, 246.8 pass yards per game, an 11-5 TD-INT ratio and an 84.9 passer rating.
“I hope that he [Hopkins] can provide just a spark,” Cardinals head coach Kilff Kingsbury said this week. “The way he competes and his play-making, his after-the-catch stuff.
“He’s a guy that if you get it close to him, he’s going to make a play on the ball.”
Can Dalton lead Saints to road win in Arizona?
Andy Dalton has started the last three games at quarterback for the New Orleans Saints
As for the Saints, they have had their own struggles this season as they have limped out to a 2-4 start, but their issues have contrastingly come on defense, coughing up 26.3 points per game, the fourth-most in the league.
But backup quarterback Andy Dalton has at least given this team a spark on offense, the Saints averaging 30 points across his three starts in place of injured starter Jameis Winston, though the team has only gone 1-2 over that stretch, losing tight games to the Minnesota Vikings in London and, most recently, the Cincinnati Bengals last weekend.
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Taysom Hill ran in a 60-yard touchdown for the New Orleans Saints against the Seattle Seahawks on their way to a 39-32 win in Week Five.
New Orleans has also rushed for 228 yards or more in each of its past two games, with jack-of-all-trades Taysom Hill having a four-TD stunner in their Week Five win over the Seattle Seahawks as he rushed for a massive 112 yards on just nine carries.
The Saints’ cause is also helped by the expected return of leading receiver Chris Olave on Thursday night after he missed a game with a concussion. But Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry remain out.
Watch New Orleans Saints at Arizona Cardinals on Thursday Night Football, live on Sky Sports NFL from 1.15am on Friday