The Seahawks added Rashid Shaheed to the offense this week, but they still have injury issues elsewhere in the wide receiver corps.
Tory Horton is listed as doubtful to play against the Cardinals because of groin and shin injuries. The fifth-round pick had four catches for 48 yards and two touchdowns in last Sunday’s win over the Commanders.
Horton saw an uptick in playing time because Cooper Kupp was out of the lineup with hamstring and heel injuries. Kupp is listed as questionable to play this week.
The Seahawks also ruled out Jake Bobo (calf) and Dareke Young (quad), which leaves Shaheed and Smith-Njigba as the only healthy receivers on the roster. Cody White and Ricky White were both elevated last Sunday and could be in line for another move on Saturday.
Guard Christian Haynes (pectoral) and cornerback Josh Jobe (concussion) have been ruled out. Linebacker Ernest Jones (knee) is doubtful and tight end A.J. Barner (calf) is listed as questionable.
The Cardinals have ruled out three defensive players for Sunday’s divisional contest against the Seahawks.
Via Darren Urban of the team’s website, Arizona head coach Jonathan Gannon said linebacker Mack Wilson, cornerback Will Johnson, and cornerback Max Melton all will not play in Week 10.
Wilson is dealing with a ribs injury, Johnson is listed with back/hip injuries, and Melton is in concussion protocol.
Rookie Cody Simon will start at linebacker in place of Mack Wilson.
Additionally, the team will not activate linebacker BJ Ojulari off of the physically unable to perform list as he returns from a knee injury.
Earlier this week, the Cardinals placed quarterback Kyler Murray on injured reserve due to his foot issue. Jacoby Brissett will continue to start in Murray’s place.
The Cardinals added a quarterback to their practice squad a day after placing Kyler Murray on injured reserve.
The team announced that they have signed Jeff Driskel. The move gives them a third quarterback behind Jacoby Brissett and Kedon Slovis.
Driskel also spent part of the 2023 season on the practice squad in Arizona, so he has familiarity with head coach Jonathan Gannon and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing. He was signed by the Browns near the end of the season and made one start in Cleveland.
Driskel appeared in one game for the Commanders last season and has also seen regular season action for the Texans, Lions, and Bengals.
Since taking over for the injured Kyler Murray, Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett has thrown just one interception in his 112 pass attempts this season. And in the process he has lowered his already low career interception percentage to a rate unprecedented in NFL history.
Through Monday night’s win over the Cowboys, Brissett has thrown 25 career interceptions in 1,873 pass attempts. That’s an interception rate of 1.3 percent, the NFL’s all-time record.
The second-lowest interception rate in NFL history belongs to Aaron Rodgers, who has thrown an interception on 1.4 percent of his passes.
Brissett’s ability to avoid interceptions is one of the reasons Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon has talked about how pleased he is with the way the offense has performed with Brissett — while tiptoeing around actually saying he thinks Brissett is playing better than Murray. The Cardinals have put Murray on injured reserve and are continuing to avoid explicitly saying who will start once Murray’s injured foot is fully healed. But if there’s any chance of Murray getting the starting job back, it’s safe to say that has more to do with Murray’s status as a first overall pick in the draft who has a contract guaranteeing him $39.8 million next year than with the Cardinals’ coaches actually thinking their offense runs better with Murray than with Brissett.
Brissett has not been a great quarterback during his 10-year NFL career, and has more often been a backup than a starter. But he’s been the kind of backup who can be relied upon not to throw the game away. And that’s a trait that sometimes earns a starting job for a quarterback who had been a backup.
The first major data point is in regarding the absence of ESPN and ABC from YouTube TV.
Monday night’s game between the Cardinals and the Cowboys drew an average audience of 16.2 million viewers across ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, and NFL+.
The release calls it ESPN’s “second-highest Week 9 audience since 2011.” In most years since 2011, however, the game was not also televised by ABC.
The impact of the YouTube TV blackout isn’t clear. Many who would have quickly and easily watched through YouTube TV may have found a workaround through rabbit ears, NFL+, or some other streaming app. And even though the numbers still count, those who had to spend time, effort, and/or money on a different way to watch the game surely weren’t happy with having to scramble.
The release makes no mention of the comparison to last year’s Week 9 audience. And for good reason. Even without the Nielsen Big Data + Panel bump, Bucs-Chiefs in Week 9 2024 averaged 20.6 million. That makes this year’s Week 9 audience a 21.4-percent reduction from Week 9 a year ago.
And then there’s the Cowboys factor. They always provide a rating boost. Last year, their Week 14 appearance on Monday night against the Bengals averaged 18.7 million viewers — even though Dallas entered that game with a 5-7 record and the Bengals were 4-8.
It would be interesting to see the full breakdown between ABC and the various cable channels. That would shed light on the number of people who relied on the free, over-the-air signal versus some form of pay-based TV.
Regardless, the number surely would have been higher if the game has been available quickly and easily to YouTube TV customers. Whether that prompts a concerted effort to end the impasse remains to be seen.
And the clock keeps ticking. In five days, the Packers host the Eagles on Monday Night Football.
