Gardner Minshew gave the Arizona Cardinals exactly what they needed on Sunday, but Mike LaFleur still isn’t ready to hand him the job.
With the Cardinals staring at a 17-3 deficit late in the third quarter against the Dallas Cowboys, LaFleur turned from Jacoby Brissett to Minshew. The change flipped the game fast. Arizona scored touchdowns on Minshew’s first four possessions and stormed back for a 33-30 overtime win.
Minshew’s first action of the season was sharp and efficient. He completed 17 of 23 passes for 188 yards and three touchdowns, including a 13-yard strike to Michael Wilson that tied the game with 6 seconds left in regulation. Chad Ryland missed the extra point that would have put Arizona ahead, but he made up for it in overtime with a 42-yard game-winner.
Tyler Allgeier was also a major factor in the comeback, piling up 191 scrimmage yards, with nearly all of that damage coming after halftime.
The victory moved Arizona to 3-5 and stretched its winning streak over Dallas to five straight.
Afterward, LaFleur made it clear the move was about the moment, not just one quarterback. He said the team needed “a spark,” and he praised Minshew’s poise and quick processing.
“He did a good job,” LaFleur said of Minshew, via Pro Football Talk. “Obviously extended a few plays, stuff like that, but I thought his timing was great.
He’s had a lot of success in this league, guys. He’s about as resilient as they come, too.
If you ask Gardner Minshew, he’s ready at all times. I thought the guys made some plays for him, and he was getting the ball out of his hands.”
Even with Minshew’s rescue act, LaFleur said he hasn’t decided who will start next week against the Seattle Seahawks. He also pushed back on the idea that Brissett alone was responsible for the switch.
“I know what the story is going to be, and so does [Brissett], but it was the collective,” LaFleur said.
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Cardinals Defense Carried Arizona In OT And A Few Names Stand Out
Arizonas 33-30 overtime win over Dallas had plenty of offense attached to it, but the defensive side of the ledger deserves its own look. Twenty players saw snaps on defense, and the Cardinals leaned on a broad group to survive a game that kept swinging back and forth. The snap counts tell part of the story, but the bigger takeaway was how many different defenders had a hand in keeping the Cowboys from finishing the job.
Among the names that stood out were L.J. Collier, Dante Stills, Mack Wilson Sr., Josh Sweat, Budda Baker and Andrew Wingard, with each showing up in the box score in some way through tackles, pressure or pass defense. Colliers night was especially eventful, and Sweat was right in the middle of the late-game push when Arizona needed one more stop to stay alive. For a defense that was on the field so often, the mix of production and resilience was enough to tilt overtime in the Cardinals favor. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Backfield Suddenly Looks Like A Survival Test
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The Cardinals now have to piece together the position for the weeks ahead, with Evan Hull suddenly in line for a much larger role if the roster stays as is. The team is also weighing whether to move one of its young backs to injured reserve so he can fully recover, a decision that would clarify the depth chart but also underline just how quickly a promising group turned into a survival test. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Still Have A Real Opening In The NFC Race
After eight weeks, the NFC picture still has enough clutter to keep Arizona in the conversation. The Cardinals sit at 3-5, but the conference standings remain tight enough that a handful of teams are still bunched around the cut line, with the current playoff field and the next group of challengers all trying to separate themselves in November.
Arizonas path is still narrow, but it is there, and the next round of NFC games should help clarify who is really in position to make a run. For a team trying to climb back into the mix, the margin for error is already thin, and every result around the conference matters as much as what the Cardinals do themselves. [Read more 🡒]