Previewing the Jets’ Opposition: Arizona Cardinals

The New York Jets broke their five-game losing streak against the Houston Texans last Thursday night, but they need to start stacking wins if they want to get back into postseason contention. Keeping the momentum going this week won't be easy. They'll need to beat a 5-4 Arizona Cardinals team that has won three in a row, in Arizona.

Let's break down the Cardinals' roster going position by position:

Quarterback Kyler Murray has started every game this season after having returned from a torn ACL in the middle of last year. The two-time Pro Bowl quarterback doesn't seem to have lost much in the way of mobility, as he has rushed for 350 yards and two scores, although he only had six yards on two carries last week.

Murray, who had his only 300-yard game of the season two weeks ago against the Miami Dolphins , has completed 67 percent of his passes and thrown for 11 touchdowns with just three interceptions.

Clayton Tune is the backup, but he's only made one start in his career, in which he passed for just 62 yards and was intercepted twice.

Offensive Line

The Cardinals' offensive line currently features two recent Jets cast-offs on the right side. Kelvin Beachum is at right tackle, with Tristan Colon having replaced the injured Will Hernandez at right guard.

Last year's first round pick, Paris Johnson, is the starter at left tackle. He's given up a team-high four sacks.

Left guard Evan Brown and center Hjalte Froholdt round out the starting line-up. As a unit, the Cardinals have played well, helped by the fact that, other than the change at right guard, Beachum is the only starter to miss a game.

It was Jackson Barton, who is currently on the practice squad injured list, who started the game while Beachum was out, but third round pick Isaiah Adams and Charlie Heck have also seen some action filling in off the bench.

Fifth round rookie Christian Jones and backup center Jon Gaines have not played yet this season.

Running Backs

Veteran James Conner, who was a Pro Bowl running back in 2021, and is coming off his first thousand-yard season, rushed for 107 yards on Sunday. He is now just one yard behind Chuba Hubbard for 5th place on the NFL rushing leaderboard. Conner could be on his way to a career year.

His backups have made solid contributions too. Third round rookie Trey Benson is averaging just under four yards per carry, and Emari Demercado has been contributing well as a third down back. In Sunday's game, Demercado broke away for a 53-yard touchdown.

Deejay Dallas is also on the roster, but he's so far primarily just been a special teams contributor.

Pass catchers

Arizona's most productive pass catching target is tight end Trey McBride, who leads them with 45 catches, although he hasn't caught a touchdown pass yet this season. He has scored twice, though, on a rush and a fumble.

At wide receiver, rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. leads Arizona with five touchdown catches. He is averaging 15.9 yards per catch on 28 receptions. Behind him Michael Wilson has 27 catches and three touchdowns and another Jets cast-off, Greg Dortch, has 21 receptions.

Beyond that, there's not much depth, as the three other receivers on the roster - Zay Jones, Zach Pascal and Xavier Weaver - have caught just one pass between them.

Elijah Higgins, who backs up McBride, has caught 12 passes this year. Another third round rookie, Tip Reiman, is the number three and Travis Vokolek is also on the roster.

Defensive Line

The Cardinals lost a key contributor on the defensive line when Bilal Nichols went onto injured reserve a few weeks ago. Another rotational contributor, Justin Jones, is also on injured reserve.

Roy Lopez is currently starting at nose tackle with LJ Collier and Dante Stills either side of him. Stills currently leads the team with 3.5 sacks.

Khyiris Tonga backs up Lopez and Naquan Jones fills in at defensive end. However, first round pick Darius Robinson hasn't recovered well enough from an injured calf to make his debut yet.

Last week Ben Stille was elevated from the practice squad and included in the rotation.

The Cardinals' base defense is a 3-4, but they often spend more time in a 3-3-5 nickel. The starters on the outside were Zaven Collins and Dennis Gardeck, but Gardeck - who had three sacks in seven games - is now on injured reserve.

Jesse Luketa is currently listed as the other starter on the outside, but he played just 24 snaps on Sunday. In an effort to replace Gardeck, the Cardinals traded for Baron Browning during the week. Browning has been a productive pass rusher over the past few years but didn't actually have a quarterback hit yet this season.

Veteran Julian Okwara is the main backup on the outside, with Victor Dimukeje and fifth round rookie Xavier Thomas also getting some reps. Dimukeje had four sacks last season.

On the inside, Kyzir White and Mack Wilson are listed as the starters, but reserve Owen Pappoe also saw plenty of action in Arizona's most recent game. White was the Cardinals' leading tackler last season.

Krys Barnes has also been getting plenty of playing time over the course of the season, but he played just eight snaps against the Bears.

Defensive Backs

Six-time Pro Bowl safety Budda Baker anchors the secondary. Baker leads the NFL in solo tackles, which is not necessarily a good thing. Clearly he makes plenty of tackles downfield and at the second level on their 25th ranked defense.

The other starting safety is Jalen Thompson, with fourth round rookie Dadrion Taylor-Demerson having seen action as the third safety. Joey Blount is also on the roster, but he's primarily a special teamer.

At cornerback, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Starling Thomas and Garrett Williams are all listed as starters, although Murphy-Bunting missed the Bears game, so Kei'Trel Clark got a start. Williams, who leads the team with five pass breakups, is the primary slot cornerback. Murphy-Bunting, who has a team-high five defensive penalties, returned to full practice on Wednesday.

Second round rookie Max Melton has seen plenty of action off the bench but only started one game.

Special Teams

Imagine if the Jets and Cardinals had traded kickers. While Greg Zuerlein has cost the Jets three games, Chad Ryland has ended three of the Cardinals' five wins with a late game-winning field goal - and in each case the Cardinals were losing when he stepped up to attempt the kick. Ryland, who replaced the injured Matt Prater earlier in the season, has only missed one kick all year.

Blake Gillikin is entering his second season as the Cardinals' punter and he's posted solid numbers, albeit not as good as last year when he was third in the league for yards per punt.

In the return game, Dallas had a kickoff return for a touchdown in the opener against the Bills and Dortch averages almost 12 yards per punt return. Demercado backs up Dallas, who himself backs up Dortch.

In punt coverage, Blount and Melton are the primary gunners and Melton leads the team with five special teams tackles. Pappoe, Dallas and Pascal also contribute in kick coverage.