Saints, Cardinals try to shake early season struggles
By The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (2-4) at ARIZONA (2-4)
Thursday 8:15 p.m. EDT, Prime Video
OPENING LINE: Cardinals by 1 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Saints 2-4; Cardinals 3-3.
SERIES RECORD: Saints lead 16-15
LAST MEETING: Saints beat Cardinals 31-9 on Oct. 27, 2019, in New Orleans.
LAST WEEK: Saints lost to Bengals 30-26; Cardinals lost to Seahawks 19-9.
SAINTS OFFENSE: OVERALL (t6), RUSH (7), PASS (16), SCORING (t12).
SAINTS DEFENSE: OVERALL (17), RUSH (20), PASS (16), SCORING (28).
CARDINALS OFFENSE: OVERALL (16), RUSH (15), PASS (17), SCORING (22).
CARDINALS DEFENSE: OVERALL (12), RUSH (7), PASS (19), SCORING (22).
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Saints minus-7; Cardinals plus-2.
SAINTS PLAYER TO WATCH: Rookie receiver Chris Olave, the 11th overall pick in last spring’s draft, has been New Orleans most productive receiver this season. He has 25 catches for 389 yards and two touchdowns in less than five full games. He’s scheduled to return this week after missing last week’s game while in the NFL’s concussion protocol.
CARDINALS PLAYER TO WATCH: All eyes will be on three-time All-Pro WR DeAndre Hopkins, who returns from a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. Hopkins caught eight touchdowns in 10 games last season.
KEY MATCHUP: Cardinals QB Kyler Murray against the Saints defensive front, led by defensive end Cameron Jordan. New Orleans has struggled with mobile QBs in recent seasons. In Week 1 this season they had trouble containing Atlanta’s Marcus Mariota. Last Sunday, Joe Burrow escaped a near sack and scrambled for a 19-yard touchdown.
KEY INJURIES: Saints receivers Michael Thomas (foot) and Jarvis Landry (ankle) did not practice this week and were ruled out. Thomas has missed the past three games and Landry the past two. Top cornerback Marshon Lattimore has not practiced this week after missing Sunday’s game with an abdomen injury and also will not play. Tight end Adam Trautman sprained his left ankle last Sunday and has not practiced this week and is also out. Left guard Andrus Peat has a chest injury that kept him out of practice this week and will miss the game. … Cardinals WR Marquise Brown (foot) is expected to miss at least the next month after getting hurt in last week’s loss. He is the team’s leading receiver. … Three of Arizona’s running backs, including James Conner (ribs), Darrel Williams (knee) and Jonathan Ward (hamstring), are nursing injuries. Ward is on IR while Williams isn’t expected to play on Thursday. Conner is day to day. … LG Justin Pugh (knee) is out for the season after tearing his ACL against the Seahawks. C Rodney Hudson (knee) has missed the past two games.
SERIES NOTES: While the regular-season series is tied at 15, the Saints won the teams’ only playoff meeting in January 2010, en route to their lone Super Bowl triumph. New Orleans also has won the past two regular-season meetings and three of the past four.
STATS AND STUFF: Saints QB Andy Dalton is expected to get his fourth straight start while season-opening starter Jameis Winston recovers from back and ankle injuries. In Dalton has completed 63.1% of his passes for 585 yards and three touchdowns against one interception in three starts. He’s been sacked four times. … Winston was active last week as an emergency, third-string backup. In his three starts, Winston completed 63.5% of his passes for 858 yards and four TDs, but threw five interceptions and was sacked 11 times. … Olave has 50 or more yards receiving in each of his past four games. … TE Taysom Hill, who also takes direct snaps, has 267 yards and five TDs rushing on 26 carries for an average of 10.3 yards per carry. He is tied for fourth in the NFL in TDs rushing. … LB Demario Davis led New Orleans with nine tackles and had his fourth-career game two-sack game last week. Davis has a sack in three of his past four games and leads the Saints with four sacks. … DE Cameron Jordan has 3½ sacks this season and has had at least 12 sacks in four of his past five seasons. … S Tyrann Mathieu, a former Cardinal, has the Saints’ lone interception this season. … Three Cardinals had their first career sacks last weekend against the Seahawks, including LBs Cameron Thomas, Myjai Sanders and Zaven Collins. Collins had two sacks. … Murray has more than 2,000 career yards rushing. He’s one of just four QBs in league history to have at least 12,000 yards passing and at least 2,000 yards rushing in his first four NFL seasons. The others are Josh Allen, Russell Wilson and Cam Newton. … Arizona’s defense has allowed just one passing TD over the past four games. … The Cardinals have lost eight straight home games, which is the longest home skid for the franchise since 1956-58 when it was located in Chicago. … Arizona had an 8-2 record in the 10 games Hopkins played in last season.
FANTASY TIP: Saints RB Alvin Kamara has not scored this season, but the versatile running back has looked healthy and effective the past two games. He’s averaged nearly 160 yards from scrimmage during that span and is bound to be a central figure in the Saints’ offense again this week.
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