2022 Opponent Review: Arizona Cardinals

As training camp approaches for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and with it the unofficial start to the season, we are taking a closer look at the opponents on the team’s 2022 schedule. Next up is the Arizona Cardinals, who represent the last non-divisional foe on Tampa Bay’s list. The two teams will meet in Glendale on Christmas for a prime-time game (8:20 p.m. ET kickoff) broadcast nationally by NBC.

The 2021 season followed a frustratingly familiar pattern in the Kliff Kingsbury-Kyler Murray era, with promising starts rendered moot by serious struggles down the stretch. Arizona was the league’s last undefeated team at 7-0 and even as late as December 5 had the NFL’s best record at 10-2. Through that 7-0 start, Murray led all qualifying NFL quarterbacks with a gaudy passer rating of 116.8.

But Murray missed three games with an ankle injury and had a couple rougher outings in losses to the Rams and Lions – the latter a real blow to the Cardinals’ division-title hopes – and lost four of their last five, or five of their last six if a lackluster bow out to the Rams in the playoffs is included. It certainly didn’t help that J.J. Watt, DeAndre Hopkins and key offseason addition Rodney Hudson all missed significant time due to injuries, as well.

The Cardinals didn’t have a cake-walk to that 7-0 start, opening the season with a sound 38-13 drubbing of the eventual AFC top playoff seed, the Tennessee Titans. Murray threw for 400 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score in a Week Two 34-33 thriller against Minnesota, and that seven-game stretch also included encouraging wins over NFC South foes Los Angeles and San Francisco. Even Arizona’s first loss in Week Eight wasn’t too discouraging as it came against the NFC’s eventual top seed, Green Bay, and was only a three-point decision, though Murray had one of his worst outings of the year.

Arizona did have one bright spot during its 1-4 slide, as Murray and the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott put on a show in what would prove…