This year, Carson Palmer went back to school. And it went well.
In his first year as the head coach of his former high school, Santa Margarita Catholic High School, Palmer led the team to a state championship with a 47-13 blowout of De La Salle.
Palmer’s coaching staff includes former Bengals receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
As a student at Santa Margarita, Palmer won consecutive state championships. He also won the Heisman Trophy, was the first overall pick in the draft, and spent 15 seasons in the NFL with the Bengals, Raiders, and Cardinals.
Palmers is currently 17th on the career regular-season passing yardage list, with 46,247 yards.
Cardinals Clips
Cardinals running back Bam Knight will not be able to return in 2025.
Arizona announced on Tuesday that the club has placed Knight on injured reserve in a series of roster moves.
Knight suffered an ankle injury during Sunday’s loss to the Texans.
He’s the latest in a string of injuries Arizona has been dealing with at the position with James Conner and Trey Benson already out for the year. Emari Demarcate also missed four games in 2025 due to injury.
Michael Carter is set to take over at the position in place of Knight.
Additionally, Arizona has placed receiver Andre Baccellia on injured reserve to end his 2025. He was able to fly back from Houston with the team after he was sent to the hospital following a collision on a kick return.
The Cardinals have signed receiver Jalen Brooks to the 53-man roster from the club’s practice squad, signed offensive lineman Marques Cox and safety Patrick McMorris to the practice squad, and released offensive lineman Trey Wedig from the practice squad.
The Cardinals lost for the 11th time in 12 games on Sunday and Jonathan Gannon is now 15-33 as the team’s head coach, but neither of those things are dimming Gannon’s confidence about his future in Arizona.
Gannon said on Monday that his focus is mainly on the team’s remaining games, but that he’s also asking “what do I have to look at with a critical eye and change” in order to have better results in the future. He passed on the opportunity to make a “pitch” for why the team should bring him back to make those changes, but he was adamant that he thinks he and the team are still on the right path.
“I believe in myself and I believe in our team,” Gannon said, via the team’s website. “We are at a dip right now. We’re going through some adversity, but I do believe in us and we will get out of the dip.”
It remains to be seen if Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill has the same level of belief in Gannon’s approach to the job, but neither the blowout losses in the last two games nor the team’s overall record since Gannon’s arrival does much to support the notion that the pieces are in place for a major turnaround in the near future.
The Texans won their sixth consecutive game, beating up on the Cardinals 40-20 on Sunday afternoon.
Houston improved to 9-5, while Arizona fell to 3-11.
Houston dominated from start to finish, taking a 10-0 lead before the Arizona offense ever took the field. The Texans outgained the Cardinals 399 to 307 and forced two turnovers.
It could have been worse. The Texans went only 3-of-6 in the red zone, and kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn had a 52-yard field goal attempt blocked on the final play of the first half.
C.J. Stroud went 22-of-29 for 260 yards and three touchdowns. He had touchdown throws of 57 yards to Nico Collins, 4 yards to Dalton Schultz and 4 yards to Collins.
Collins caught three passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns, and Schultz had eight receptions for 76 yards and a score. Woody Marks was credited with a 1-yard fumble recovery touchdown after the snap bounced to him in the wildcat formation, and he ran it in the end zone.
Jacoby Brissett was 27-of-40 for 249 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Trey McBride caught 12 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns, giving him more than 100 catches and 1,000 yards for the second consecutive season.
Cardinals wide receiver Andre Baccellia was transported to a Houston hospital for further evaluation after being injured on a kickoff return late in the first half.
The Cardinals report that Baccellia was “alert and had full movement of all this extremities.”
He has a neck injury.
Baccellia was injured a the end of a 26-yard kickoff return with 1:38 remaining in the first half. He was stretchered off the field on a backboard but gave a thumbs-up as he left.
The Cardinals also updated injuries to linebacker Cody Simon (knee) and running back Bam Knight (ankle), ruling both out for the second half.
The Texans still have problems in the red zone, but today it won’t matter.
Houston leads Arizona 23-7 at halftime despite going 1-for-3 in the red zone. The Texans kicked field goals on drives that ended at the Cardinals 12 and the Cardinals 3, and Ka’imi Fairbairn had a 52-yard attempt blocked by Calais Campbell on the final play of the half.
The Texans had 35 plays for 230 yards in the first half, while the Cardinals had 26 for 94.
C.J. Stroud is 13-of-17 for 177 yards and a touchdown. He hit Nico Collins for a 57-yard touchdown on the second play, and after the Cardinals fumbled the ensuing kickoff, the Texans led 10-0 before the Cardinals offense ever took the field.
Jacoby Brissett is 12-of-17 for 74 yards and a touchdown. Trey McBride has seven catches for 69 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown. Michael Carter has five carries for 23 yards, with Bam Knight in the training room with an ankle injury.
McBride now has 100 catches and 1,006 yards for the season, his second consecutive with at least 100 catches and 1,000 yards.
Cardinals special teamer Andre Baccellia was injured on a kickoff return near the end of the half. Medical personnel removed Baccellia’s facemask, strapped him to a backboard and placed him on a stretcher. He raised his hand and gave a thumbs-up as he left the field.
The Cardinals, who trail the Texans 17-0 in the first quarter, have had injury added to insult.
Running back Bam Knight was carted to the X-ray room with a left ankle injury. The Cardinals list him as questionable to return, but Knight could not put any weight on his left leg and appeared in significant pain as he left.
His only carry came on the Cardinals’ first play from scrimmage when Derek Stingley tackled him for a 2-yard loss.
Knight has 82 carries for 269 yards and four touchdowns this season.
Houston has 93 yards to minus-7 for Arizona and leads big on a 57-yard touchdown reception by Nico Collins, a 30-yard field goal by Ka’imi Fairbairn and a 1-yard touchdown run by Woody Marks in the wildcat after the snap bounced off the ground.
Well, that didn’t take long.
Only 49 seconds into the game, the Texans have a 7-0 lead on the Cardinals.
Jaylin Noel returned the opening kickoff 39 yards to the Houston 41. Woody Marks ran for 2 yards on first down before C.J. Stroud found Nico Collins downfield.
Collins ran 57 yards to the end zone for a quick-strike score.
The Texans kicked off, and Jalen Brooks fumbled. Jamal Hill forced the fumble, and Dare Ogunbowale recovered at the Arizona 27. Houston reached the Arizona 11 before stalling and settling for a 30-yard Ka’imi Fairbairn field goal.
The Texans lead 10-0 only three minutes into the game, and without the Cardinals offense seeing the field.
The Bills will be missing a key defensive piece as they try to keep the Patriots from clinching the AFC East in New England on Sunday.
Cornerback Christian Benford is inactive for the game. Benford was added to the injury report on Thursday with a toe issue and he missed practice on Friday before being listed as questionable.
Benford had a big hand in each of the Bills’ last two wins. He returned a fumble for a touchdown and had an interception to help them beat the Steelers in Week 13 and he returned an interception for the go-ahead score against the Bengals in the fourth quarter last Sunday.
Bills at Patriots
Bills: CB Christian Benford, LB Terrel Bernard, WR Gabe Davis, S Darnell Savage, OL Tylan Grable, DT Phidarian Mathis, OL Chase Lundt
Patriots: LB Bradyn Swinson, OL Marcus Bryant, DT Eric Gregory, TE C.J. Dippre, WR Efton Chism, QB Tommy DeVito
Ravens at Bengals
Ravens: WR Rashod Bateman, CB Keyon Martin, OL Joseph Noteboom, DT Aeneas Peebles, QB Cooper Rush
Bengals: WR Tee Higgins, QB Jake Browning, S PJ Jules, DT Jordan Jefferson
Jets at Jaguars
Jets: QB Tyrod Taylor, QB Justin Fields, WR Tyler Johnson, EDGE Braiden McGregor, DL Mazi Smith, TE Mason Taylor, LB Kiki Mauigoa
Jaguars: LB Yasir Abdullah, OL Walker Little, TE Hunter Long, DL Emmanuel Ogbah, DL Austin Johnson
Chargers at Chiefs
Chargers: WR Quentin Johnston, S Elijah Molden, WR Derius Davis, CB Nikko Reed, LB Kyle Kennard, OL Trey Pipkins, WR Dalevon Campbell
Chiefs: CB Trent McDuffie, WR Hollywood Brown, OT Jawaan Taylor, TE Jared Wiley, G Trey Smith, RB Elijah Mitchell, DT Zacch Pickens
Cardinals at Texans
Cardinals: CB Max Melton, WR Marvin Harrison Jr., S Jalen Thompson, S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, OL Evan Brown, OT Paris Johnson, WR Xavier Weaver
Texans: OL Jarrett Kingston, WR Braxton Berrios, RB Nick Chubb, QB Graham Mertz, CB Ameer Speed, LB E.J. Speed, DE Solomon Byrd
Browns at Bears
Browns: CB Denzel Ward, RB Dylan Sampson, G Zak Zinter, G Wyatt Teller, T Jack Conklin, TE David Njoku, DT Adin Huntington
Bears: QB Tyson Bagent, RB Travis Homer, WR Jahdae Walker, LB Ruben Hyppolite, DE Dominique Robinson, DT Jonathan Ford
Commanders at Giants
Commanders: QB Jayden Daniels, DE Drake Jackson, OL George Fant, CB Jonathan Jones, OL Trenton Scott, RB Chris Rodriguez
Giants: EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux, WR Ryan Miller, P Jamie Gillan, OL James Hudson, WR Gunner Olszewski, DL Rakeem Nunez-Roches, QB Russell Wilson
Raiders at Eagles
Raiders: QB Geno Smith, CB Greedy Vance, RB Zamir White, OL Jordan Meredith, TE Ian Thomas, WR Alex Bachman, DL Leki Fotu
Eagles: LB Josh Uche, QB Sam Howell, CB Mac McWilliams, RB A.J. Dillon, OT Lane Johnson, DT Jalen Carter
The Texans will be without running back Nick Chubb today against the Cardinals.
Chubb, who is listed as questionable with a rib injury, is not expected to play, according to multiple reports.
It will be the first missed game this season for Chubb, who returned to health this season after a 2023 knee injury caused him to miss 15 games that year and much of the 2024 season as well.
The Texans will rely heavily on running back Woody Marks today. Marks had already moved ahead of Chubb on the running back depth chart, and without Chubb available Marks should get a major workload today.
Houston is a 10.5-point favorite at home against Arizona today.
