Arizona Cardinals vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This game was billed as a potential shootout between two offenses that loved to throw the ball and two defenses that couldn’t cover anyone, and for the most part, it lived up to those expectations. There were a lot of penalties and mistakes in this game, which was to be expected given one of the quarterbacks is a rookie and the other leads the league in giving the ball away since entering the league. It was competitive throughout, with both teams trading scores and turnovers throughout the second half. After the Cardinals scored a touchdown to take a 27-23 lead Ronald Jones fumbled, setting up the Cardinals in Buccaneers territory with a chance to put the game away before Kyler Murray threw a bad interception that gave Tampa Bay a second chance. Jameis Winston then led his team down the field and Peyton Barber punched in the go-ahead touchdown. The Cardinals offense was unable to get down the field to try for a tying field goal, and the Buccaneers held on to win the game after winning the time of possession battle 36:03 to 23:57.
Arizona Cardinals
Quarterbacks
- Kyler Murray: 27/44, 324 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT | 3 carries, 38 yards
- Andy Lee: 1/1, 26 yards
Kyler Murray was productive today, but at times he struggled with his accuracy and that ultimately may have cost his team the game. When Murray had time in the pocket, or when he escaped pressure by rolling out, he looked both confident and accurate. When he tried to throw in the face of pressure, however, he tended to miss his targets high. His interception came on a play where he was backpedaling away from pressure and threw the ball short of his receiver, allowing the defensive back to jump the route. Aside from that Murray played well, taking advantage of a beatable Buccaneers secondary to break the 300-yard mark and connect with Christian Kirk for three touchdowns. He could have another touchdown on a key fourth-down play where tight end Maxx Williams was uncovered, but Williams dropped the wide-open pass. Andy Lee made a nice throw to convert a fourth down, which ultimately led to a Cardinals touchdown later in the drive.
Running Backs
- David Johnson: 5 carries, 2 yards | 1 target, 1 reception, 8 yards
- Kenyan Drake: 10 carries, 35 yards | 7 targets, 6 receptions, 6 yards
David Johnson was active and even saw a few touches, but he did not look at all healthy today. He looked slow behind the line of scrimmage, did not seem to have any ability to cut, and topped a very disappointing day off with a fumble. Kenyan Drake did not fare much better against a tough Tampa Bay run defense, and Drake leading the backfield in touches by this big a margin is probably another strong indicator that Johnson is not fully healthy. It is tough to feel great about either player after this performance, but if you have Johnson and reports are good concerning his health he is still worth starting. Drake has been heavily involved since the Cardinals traded for him and is worth at least flex consideration going forward.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
- Christian Kirk: 10 targets, 6 receptions, 138 yards, 3 TDs
- Larry Fitzgerald: 8 targets, 8 receptions, 71 yards
- Andy Isabella: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 78 yards
- KeeSean Johnson: 4 targets, 0 receptions
- Maxx Williams: 2 targets, 1 reception, 15 yards
Christian Kirk came into this game due for some positive regression, and that arrived in a big way to the tune of 138 yards and three touchdowns. Kirk was just able to beat his man in coverage on simple routes, and once he got behind the defense he was not going to be caught. Larry Fitzgerald had a nice fantasy game and made several key catches to convert first downs and drew a pass interference flag that helped set up one of Kirk’s touchdowns. He was Kyler Murray’s go-to receiver when the Cardinals needed to move the chains, and Fitzgerald rewarded that trust by making the catches in traffic we’ve come to expect from him. Andy Isabella was more involved in the offense after catching a long touchdown last week and almost broke another slant route for a long touchdown. His speed on the field is special, and it seems like his role in the offense is going to continue to grow. KeeSean Johnson missed a throw that was a little high but still probably should have been caught for a first down, and aside from that play was not able to get involved in the offense.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Quarterback
- Jameis Winston: 30/48, 358 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs | 3 carries, 40 yards
Jameis Winston had what has become a pretty typical game for him, as he put up a lot of yards but offset that with several confusing decisions. He threw an interception on the first drive of the game by trying to force the ball into a window that was not there and threw a second interception by trying to fit the ball between two defenders. He still trusts his arm too much, and at this point in his career, it’s probably safe to assume he always will. He left a few plays on the field today by overthrowing open receivers who had a step on their defender, including what would have been a long touchdown to Breshad Perriman. All of that said, Winston still had a solid fantasy outing and was able to do enough to get his team the win. He did a good job of evading pressure including scrambling for a first down on a run that included making two defenders miss with a nice hesitation move. For fantasy purposes, Winston remains a solid starter who offers a lot of upside but also comes with the risk of self-destructing due to turnovers.
Running Backs
- Ronald Jones: 11 carries, 29 yards, 1 TD | 8 targets, 8 receptions, 77 yards
- Peyton Barber: 11 carries, 43 yards, 1 TD | 1 target, 1 reception, 4 yards
- Dare Ogunbowale: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 24 yards
One of the storylines coming into this game was Ronald Jones being named the primary running back for the Buccaneers. Aside from fumbling the ball without being touched he had a productive game, including a surprising featured role in the passing game that led to a career-high eight receptions. For context, Jones had 15 career receptions coming into the game, so it was encouraging to see him produce like that as a receiver. All of the receptions came on short routes, and it seemed like more of a game plan decision to counter the Cardinals pass rush than a desire to feature him as a receiver, but Jones looked good with the ball in space and didn’t have any drops. He did appear to stay in to block on a designed screen pass where he was the intended target, and after his fumble, he was replaced for the final drive by Peyton Barber. The mistakes are concerning, but Jones is the most explosive running back the Buccaneers have and I would expect them to go right back to him next week. He will lose third-down work to Dare Ogunbowale, and the team may continue to prefer Barber closing games. I would be confident in starting Jones as an RB2 going forward, and the other two players are safe to drop in all but the deepest of redraft leagues.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
- Mike Evans: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 82 yards
- Chris Godwin: 12 targets, 6 receptions, 74 yards
- Breshad Perriman: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 17 yards
- O.J. Howard: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 47 yards, 1 TD
O.J. Howard returned from his injury to be a part of the offense this week, finishing second on the team in targets and catching their only passing touchdown. The Cardinals blew the coverage on his touchdown, and it is well documented how bad Arizona has been at defending tight ends all season, but it was nice to see Tampa Bay finally get Howard involved. Mike Evans had a quiet stat line, but drew a flag for pass interference and had a nice catch wiped out by a penalty on the offensive line. Chris Godwin was also quiet, although his stat line is more attributable to Jameis Winston misfiring on several throws to him. Godwin also had a long catch brought back by a holding call and drew a defensive pass interference penalty in the end zone. Both receivers were involved in the offense and showed no reason to worry about them going forward.
- Dan Adams