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| Other Week 11 Game Recaps | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARI at CIN | CAR at GB | CHI at SEA | CLE at BAL | KC at IND | MIA at PHI | NE at BUF | NO at HOU |
| NYG at DET | OAK at MIN | PIT at NYJ | SD at JAX | STL at SF | TB at ATL | TEN at DEN | WAS at DAL |
Week 11 Game Recap: Arizona Cardinals 35, Cincinnati Bengals 27
What you need to know
| Arizona Cardinals |
The Arizona Cardinals evened their record to 5-5 with an impressive defensive performance intercepting Carson Palmer four times and scoring twice in a game that had several momentum shifts. Cornerback Antrel Rolle, playing in place of regular starting cornerback Eric Greene, (who injured his ankle at practice on Thursday) had three interceptions alone, two of them run back for touchdowns. Rolle has a third interception return for a touchdown nullified by a penalty. The Cardinal offense amassed only 253 total yards, but it was the Cardinals defense that kept them on ahead for most of the game.
Kurt Warner had one of his better games when you consider he had no turnovers. He threw for only 211 yards completing 16 of 28 passes and two touchdowns. His elbow injury is still a matter of concern but he was able to hit six different receivers including a couple of sandlot plays where he completed passes while being in the grasp of Bengal defenders, just before being sacked.
Both Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin had touchdown receptions with Boldin's being the longest of 44 yards. Both found the Bengal secondary of little resistance at times and found themselves wide open in several instances. Fitzgerald was the game's leading receiver with eight catches for 93 yards. He was targeted mostly on deep out patterns. Boldin utilized his speed to run crossing routes and scored on a long post pattern where he was able to beat the Bengals secondary. He finished with 71 yards on four catches.
Surprisingly Edgerrin James had a rough time finding room against a Bengals rush defense that was rated 27th in the league giving up an average of more than 135 yards per game. He finished with 52 yard on 22 carries and one touchdown, a three yard run up the middle to give the Cardinals a 28-13 third quarter lead.
| Cincinnati Bengals |
The Bengals (3-7) saw any hopes of making the playoffs vanish in a game that they simply let slip away. The team committed five turnovers (four interceptions, one fumble) and allowed the Cardinals to score two defensive touchdowns. Having 396 net yards on offense was the result of the Bengals finding themselves playing from behind most of the game. They committed 11 penalties for 79 yards and at sometimes in the most inopportune times. The Bengals did get a special teams' touchdown when reserve running back DeDe Dorsey blocked a Cardinals punt and recovered it in stride for a 19 yard touchdown.
Despite losing the game, Carson Palmer had a good game fantasy-wise with 329 yards on 37 for 52 and two touchdowns. Of his four interceptions, the most damaging was the second being on the first play of the second half that led to the Cardinals extending their lead to 28-13. It set the tone for the rest of the game. Palmer's touchdown passes were thrown to Chris Henry and T. J. Houshmandzadeh. Palmer hit seven different receivers and was sacked only once.
It appears that Kenny Watson may have supplanted Rudi Johnson as the more featured running back in the Bengals offense and had 95 yards of total offense. Although Johnson started the game, Watson was involved more in the offense including late in the fourth quarter when the Bengals were driving for what would have been a chance to tie the score on a two point conversion. Watson finished the game with 45 yards on nine carries, and five catches for 50 yards. Johnson contributing 25 yards on eight carries and had one catch for two yards.
T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Chris Henry and Chad Johnson - All three receivers were targeted often as Cincinnati passed on 52 of their 72 offensive plays. Houshmandzadeh had 89 yards on eight catches, Johnson had eight catches for 86 yards and Henry had eight catches for 81 yards. Henry did have two critical dropped passes that would have kept drives alive for the Bengals.
What you ought to know
| QB Kurt Warner, Pass: 16 - 28 - 211 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - -2 - 0 |
Warner had a good, but not great fantasy game finishing with 16 for 28 for 211 yards and two touchdowns. His TD passes were thrown to Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. The most important stat for Warner in this game is he did not throw an interception or lose a fumble. He hit six different receivers and looked poised in the pocket. Twice he kept drives alive with sandlot type plays, once with an underhand toss to J. J. Arrington and another where he threw the ball left handed to Leonard Pope, while in the grasp of Bengal defenders. Although his injured left elbow is still an issue, it appears that Warner is becoming more comfortable playing with the brace on his left elbow.
| RB Edgerrin James, Rush: 22 - 52 - 1, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (3 targets) |
James found the running unusually difficult against a Bengals rush defense ranked 27th in the league. His long run was only seven yards. He did score on a three yard run early in the second half to cap off a 24 yard drive for the Cardinals offense.
| RB J.J. Arrington, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (3 targets) |
Arrington caught one pass from Warner, and did not have any runs.
| WR Larry Fitzgerald, Rec: 8 - 93 - 1 (13 targets) |
Fitzgerald had 93 yards on nine catches with a five yard touchdown late in the first half to give the Cardinals a 21-13 lead. Many of his routes were medium to long out patterns and he found the Bengals defenders of little resistance. In all, Fitzgerald was targeted 12 times in the game.
| WR Anquan Boldin, Rec: 4 - 71 - 1 (6 targets) |
Boldin had a 44 yard touchdown in the first quarter when he beat the Bengals safety on a post pattern. He was targeted underneath the linebackers on many routes and also found the Bengals secondary of little resistance.
| WR Bryant Johnson, Rec: 1 - 13 - 0 (3 targets) |
Johnson caught just one pass for 13 yards.
| TE Leonard Pope, Rec: 1 - 22 - 0 (2 targets) |
Pope caught just one pass that really wasn't intended for him when he was the recipient of a left handed throw by Warner just as he was being brought down by a Bengals lineman. Pope caught the ball one handed and kept the drive alive.
| PK Neil Rackers 0 - 1 FG, 5 - 5 XP, 5 points |
Rackers missed on a 54 yard field goal attempt in the first half, but hit all five of his extra point attempts
| ARI Rush Defense |
The Cardinals rush defense had its second straight impressive performance allowing only 72 yards on 20 rushing plays. The longest rush allowed was 11 yards to Kenny Watson. The kept both Watson and Rudi Johnson in check for most of the game.
| ARI Pass Defense |
The pass defense as a whole was the star of the game with Antrel Rolle having three interceptions, two of those returned for touchdowns. Rolle had a third touchdown interception return nullified by a penalty. The other interception was by Karlos Dansby. Although giving up touchdowns to Houshmandzadeh and Henry, the Cardinals secondary played aggressive and harassed Palmer on several occasions.
| QB Carson Palmer, Pass: 37 - 52 - 329 - 2 TD / 4 INT, Rush: 2 - -1 - 0 |
Palmer had a good game fantasy wise with 329 yards on 37 for 52, but the four interceptions obviously took away from an otherwise outstanding day. He hit T. J. Houshmandzadeh and Chris Henry on touchdown passes and completed passes to seven different receivers. The most damaging of his interceptions was the first play in the second half when Karlos Dansby stepped in front of a pass intended for Houshmandzadeh. That interception extended the Cardinals lead to 28-13 and forced the Bengals to all but abandon their running game.
| RB Kenny Watson, Rush: 9 - 45 - 0, Rec: 8 - 50 - 0 (10 targets) |
It appears that Watson may be supplanting Rudi Johnson as the featured back in the offense at least for this game. Watson had 95 yards of total offense (45 rushing, 50 receiving.) Most importantly when it came to playing catch up, Watson was the featured back on drives late in the fourth quarter. He appeared quicker than Johnson, and was utilized as a receiver out of the back field.
| RB Rudi Johnson, Rush: 8 - 25 - 0, Rec: 1 - 2 - 0 (1 targets) |
Johnson rushed mainly between the tackles, but was noticeably on the sidelines when the Bengals had to abandon the running game in favor of playing catch up.
| RB DeDe Dorsey, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0 (1 targets) |
Dorsey had one rush for three yards, but contributed on special teams when he blocked a Cardinal punt and recovered the ball for a 19 yard touchdown cutting the Cardinals lead to 28-27 late in the third quarter.
| WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Rec: 8 - 87 - 1 (12 targets) |
Houshmandzadeh was the Bengals leading receiver with 87 yards on eight catches. He scored on a 19 yard touchdown to give the Bengals a 7-0 lead early in the game. Houshmandzadeh probably would have had a 100 yard day had it not been for him being injured late in the fourth quarter. He was seen walking around the sidelines, with an undisclosed injury. He ran crisp routes and often was targeted 12 times.
| WR Chad Johnson, Rec: 8 - 86 - 0 (11 targets) |
Johnson caught eight balls for 86 yards, but no touchdowns. At times he found the Cardinals defenders playing off of him which allowed him to go into his routes untouched. He did commit a critical turnover when he fumbled the ball on the Arizona 13 yard line with the Bengals driving for an apparent touchdown.
| WR Chris Henry, Rec: 8 - 81 - 1 (11 targets) |
Henry had a 37 yard touchdown reception and has quickly become a third option for Palmer in the Bengals passing attack. He was targeted xx times on the night, but did have two critical drops that ended Bengal drives. Henry is by far the quickest of the Bengals receivers and often was targeted deep by Palmer.
| WR Antonio Chatman, Rec: 3 - 20 - 0 (5 targets) |
Chatman caught three balls for 20 yards and came in when the Bengals went into the four and five wide out sets. His routes were mainly underneath the Cardinals linebacker unit, but he was targeted deep in the fourth quarter on the ball that was intercepted by Rolle for his third of the game.
| PK Shayne Graham 2 - 2 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 9 points |
Graham made both of his field goal attempts a 41 and 37 yarder. He hit on all three of his extra points. Graham has now converted on 24 straight field goal attempts.
| CIN Rush Defense |
The Bengals rush defense had a good game containing the Cardinals to a net rushing total of only 50 yards. They did not force any turnovers in the game and did give up a three yard touchdown to Edgerrin James.
| CIN Pass Defense |
The Bengals pass defense allowed only 211 yards to the Cardinal, but did give up touchdowns to both Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. They also sacked Warner three times.
