A.J. Green doesn't speak loudly, and he was even more quiet after the way the Cardinals game went Monday, a difficult loss. But Green, even in defeat, had one of his best games of the season. His Pro Football Focus grade of 81.9 was the best on the team, following a seven-catch, 102-yard night, including him surpassing the 10,000-yard mark for his career.
Green ended up playing 56 of 78 offensive snaps, third in the receiving group behind DeAndre Hopkins (68) and Christian Kirk (58). Rondale Moore played 34 snaps.
With Chase Edmonds expected to return to play this week, how that impacts James Conner's workhorse status is TBD. But if the Rams game Monday night was the last time for all-J.C., all the time, Conner made it count. He had two touchdowns, nine catches, and in the end played 75 out of a possible 78 offensive snaps. Eno Benjamin played only three offensive snaps, and fellow running back Jonathan Ward also played three offensive snaps.
Conner also was a effective even if some of his runs didn't go anywhere; Pro Football Focus have him a 74.6 grade for the evening, third-best on the Cardinals' offense.
Quarterback Kyler Murray, even with two interceptions and no TD passes, still earned a 79,3 grade. Hopkins was at 68.6, and Kirk 65.6
Zach Ertz is the obvious No. 1 tight end (65 snaps), but it's interesting to see the gap between Demetrius Harris (17) and Darrell Daniels (4).
The defensive grades were somewhat surprisingly solid, given no turnovers forced. Defensive linemen Corey Peters (74.4) and Jordan Phillips (72.4) led the way, followed by linebackers Jordan Hicks (71.3) and Devon Kennard (71.1), and defensive backs Byron Murphy (69.2) and Jalen Thompson (67.5).
Six players played at least 90 percent of the defensive snaps, led by Murphy playing all 58 available. That was followed by Hicks and Isaiah Simmons (57 each), safety Budda Baker (56), Thompson (55) and cornerback Marco Wilson (53), the latter of which who, despite being targeted often, still ended up with an average (61.4) grade.
Linebackers Chandler Jones (50) and Markus Golden (40) were the top snap-count pass rushers.
