First place?
OK, it's Week 6. And it's not like the Cardinals have played the consistent football they'd like nor sport a record they'd prefer if we're going to talk about being atop the NFC West. However …
The 49ers beating the Seahawks Thursday night means it only takes a 3-3 record to own a share of first in the division. And that's what the Cardinals would have if they can go to Lambeau and beat the Packers – a team, it should be noted, that will be one the Cards could ultimately battle for a playoff spot, so head-to-head there might matter. Besides, to be talking such things less than two weeks after the debacle against the Commanders speaks not only to the week-to-week nature of the NFL but also the resiliency of Jonathan Gannon's team.
So yeah, first place, no matter when it might happen, carries a little weight. In my opinion. To get there, the Cardinals have to win a second straight game for the first time since 2021.
Now, to do it in Lambeau can be a chore. The stadium is iconic, but more importantly, the opponent is good. The Cardinals have had a ton of memorable games games against the Packers in Arizona, playoffs and otherwise. Fewer in Green Bay, where it's been a tough visit. But the last one was memorable, despite it being a generally wretched year with Steve Wilks and Josh Rosen. It was snowing hard pregame and in the first half, pretty darn cold, and the Cardinals pulled out a win in large part because Larry Fitzgerald made an amazing diving catch on third-and-forever. (The Packers fired Mike McCarthy after that game, the news coming so fast we were on the plane but hadn't even taken off back to Arizona yet.)
This game will have more at stake. Meaningful football is fun.
-- The Cardinals had a huge win against the 49ers, but three second-half takeaways helps mightily in that equation. The Packers already have 14 takeaways, including nine(!) interceptions, five from safety Xavier McKinney. Kyler Murray will need to be careful with the ball. That's an obvious, but the Cardinals have to find a way to force Jordan Love into a mistake. Love is good but he hasn't been great.
As for "hunting" turnovers on defense, I thought Gannon gave an insightful comment about it.
"There's probably a healthy blend," Gannon said. "The first thing you have to have players realize is the value of the ball, and our guys understand that. Then they have to understand when they have opportunities, when they can come up and what techniques they can use. Within the confines of the defense, there are times when you can be, if you have ball awareness and violence, of forcing takeaways. There are plays when it comes up. Certain guys have a little bit more of a knack."
-- Will Hernandez was having his best season, but the right side of the offensive line is down to backups. Kelvin Beachum has been solid at right tackle. The hope is that Trystan Colon can do the same at right guard. Again, this team is best when it thinks run-first and gets James Conner going.
"We're a pretty close-knit group for the most part, so that alone has made it an easier transition," Colon said. "You cannot replace Will Hernandez. That's Big Mijo. I'm going to do my best. I've even gone as far as telling (left tackle) Paris (Johnson Jr.) I'm going to work on my tap (on the silent count) to make sure my tap looks the exact same. I'm going to do my best to imitate everything he brings."
-- Is this the week Kyler and Marvin Harrison Jr. finally (fully) click?
-- Gannon said the Cardinals will be "smart" with rookie defensive lineman Darius Robinson, after Robinson didn't do much of anything Wednesday in his first day back at practice and then sat out completely on his second day back. Gannon said Robinson was having some discomfort in his calf. But it will be worth watching how Robinson's 21-day window to be put back on the roster is moving now. If the Cards don't put him on the roster by the end of that time, he has to stay on IR the balance of the season. (That said, even if Robinson wasn't totally ready, the Cardinals could still put him on the roster and make him inactive until he could play.)
-- The history here: Sunday will mark 102 years, 10 months and 24 days since the first time the Cardinals – then located in Racine, Illinois – played the Packers. It was played in Chicago, a 3-3 tie in front of 2,000 people. I expect a much larger crowd this weekend.
-- Through five weeks, the Cardinals have a league-low 19 penalties. That's impressive, and speaks to the culture Gannon has built. The Cardinals were 23rd in the league in penalties in 2023, and last in the league during Kliff Kingsbury's final season of 2022.
"You've got to educate your guys, and you've got to hold them accountable," Gannon said. "It starts in practice, but again, it's technique and decision making. Like I've said, we put a lot on our guys to make the correct decisions. … I do think that kind of goes into a little bit of our DNA—the opponent shouldn't be yourself."
-- This will be the first time the Cardinals have played the Packers with a quarterback not named Favre or Rodgers since the Phoenix Cardinals went against the Majik Man, Don Majkowski, in 1990.
-- Linebacker Jesse Luketa finally got to play last week, and it made a difference. It was Luketa's forced fumble that led to the Cardinals' recovery and jump-started the comeback victory. Luketa had been a healthy scratch in the first four games this season; instead, rookie Xavier Thomas was inactive for the first time.
"Opportunity came knocking for myself, and I answered," Luketa said, adding, "regardless of if you like it or you don't (when it comes to not playing), you have to keep that team-first mindset."
-- Assuming Murray throws for 164 yards Sunday – which he should – he will surpass Carson Palmer (16,782 yards) for the fourth-most passing yards in franchise history. Jim Hart, Neil Lomax and Jake Plummer are 1-2-3.
-- The Cardinals have scored a touchdown on their opening drive in all five games this season. They are the first team since 1993 to have done it in the first five games of a season, and one of three teams to do it at least five straight games since 2000. Atlanta had a six-game streak in 2016 and the Bengals did it five straight games in 2023.
-- For their part, the Packers have twice surrendered TDs on the opponent's opening drive this season.
-- The last word comes from safety Budda Baker, who was asked about how teams usually don't throw the ball near him.
"I always talk a lot of smack to my coaches during the week, 'You guys don't put me in a position to see the football!'" Baker said. "I'm just messing with them, but they take those things serious sometimes."
Yes, he was smiling.
See you Sunday.
