It is no question that the Cardinals have been extremely banged up this season. Arizona was ranked as the least healthy team entering Week 8.
Here is every NFL team ranked from healthiest to least healthy entering Week 8 🩺 @sportsdocmatt pic.twitter.com/DVNheT4cje
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 30, 2022
A major component of these injuries can be found on the offensive line. The Cardinals were missing three starting linemen, including D.J. Humphries, Max Garcia, and Rodney Hudson.
Kingsbury noted this as the reason why Arizona struggled to run the ball all game long. RB Eno Benjamin ran the ball nine times for only 22 yards.
“They got a good front and missing three of our starting offensive line” via @CraigAZSports
However, Kingsbury wanted to make sure that this is no excuse for how bad the running game was. In total, the Cardinals only ran the ball for 78 yards, compared to 173 for the Vikings.
“We still got to be able to execute at a high level”
By not being able to run the ball, Arizona found themselves in third and long opportunities on what seemed like every drive. This problem put a tremendous amount of pressure on Murray to create something out of nothing. Ultimately, leading to unnecessary turnovers.
