NFC West

The Arizona Cardinals will start their third-string quarterback Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.

Head coach Kliff Kingsbury told reporters Friday that David Blough will play as Colt McCoy is still dealing with concussion symptoms.

Kingsbury announced Wednesday that McCoy had cleared concussion protocol and was on track to start. The team listed the 36-year-old as a full practice participant Wednesday and Thursday.

McCoy suffered the concussion in the third quarter of Arizona's loss to the Denver Broncos on Dec. 18. Trace McSorley finished the game and started the Cardinals' Week 16 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

There's no indication McSorley is dealing with an injury. The 27-year-old journeyman is not listed on the team's injury report.

The Cardinals signed Blough off the Minnesota Vikings' practice squad Dec. 14. He was active for the Bucs game but didn't play.

He will be the fourth quarterback to start for the Cardinals this season.

Kyler Murray's season ended when he tore his ACL in Week 14 against the New England Patriots. McCoy started in Weeks 10, 11 and 15. McSorley made his first career start last week.

Blough will make his first start in three years. The undrafted Purdue product threw for 984 yards with four touchdowns and six interceptions in five starts for the Detroit Lions in 2019. His most recent appearance in an NFL game was with the Lions in Week 8 last season.

The 4-11 Cardinals enter Week 17 having lost five consecutive games. Their 11 losses are their most in a season since 2018 (3-13).

Arizona Cardinals star J.J. Watt announced Tuesday he's retiring from the NFL after the 2022 season:

Watt has 9.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and 33 total tackles through 14 games this year. He soaked in the scene following Arizona's 19-16 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday:

The 33-year-old got off to a blistering start when he entered the NFL in 2011. Through his first five years, he was a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, a four-time All-Pro and led the league in sacks twice. His three DPOY nods are tied for the most all-time with Lawrence Taylor and Aaron Donald.

Thanks to a series of injuries, his career has taken a turn since then.

Having already undergone offseason back surgery, Watt only made three appearances in 2016 before he required another back procedure.

That was the beginning of a trend for Watt. From 2016 to 2021, he appeared in 55 out of a possible 97 games.

Most recently, Watt battled multiple injuries before his first year with the Cardinals ended after seven games. He had 16 tackles, one sack and 10 tackles for loss in his limited time on the field.

While he didn't boast the kind of longevity some elite pass-rushers enjoyed—his 111.5 sacks rank 26th all-time—the five-time Pro Bowler is a near-lock for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Pro Football Reference gives him a Hall of Fame Monitor score of 126.00, which is fifth-highest among defensive ends. The four players ahead of Watt have all been enshrined in Canton, Ohio.

Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker is expected to miss the remainder of the 2022 season after suffering a fractured shoulder in Sunday's loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Baker played all of Sunday's game.

Baker, a five-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, has been a staple in the Arizona defense since being selected in the second round of the 2017 NFL draft out of Washington.

The 26-year-old has never missed more than two games in a season and played all of the 2021 campaign.

Earlier this season, Baker suffered a high ankle sprain and was expected to miss multiple weeks, but he worked through the injury and surprisingly didn't miss any time.

Baker was selected to his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl this year and has posted two interceptions, seven pass breakups, one forced fumble, 111 tackles, one tackle for loss and two quarterback hits in 15 games.

With Baker sidelined, Chris Banjo and Charles Washington could see more playing time to end the season.

Baker's injury is certainly a tough blow for the Cardinals, though they have already been eliminated from playoff contention with a 4-11 record, fourth in the NFC West. So it wouldn't necessarily matter if Baker played.

Arizona will face the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday before ending the season on Jan. 8 against the San Francisco 49ers.

In what has been a tight race for NFL Defensive Player of the Year, San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa has at least one vocal supporter in his own locker room.

George Kittle told reporters Bosa "secured his defensive MVP" with a dominant performance in Saturday's 37-20 victory over the Washington Commanders.

The 49ers tight end went on to say he doesn't see a reason why Bosa shouldn't be in the MVP conversation:

While it seems unlikely Bosa—or any defensive player—will garner much MVP discussion, he would presumably be one of the few players on that side of that ball who could steal a vote away from one of the top quarterbacks.

It's assumed the voting for Defensive Player of the Year will come down to a battle between Bosa and Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons. Other players who could get into the mix include New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner, Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones and Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby.

If we go with the assumption that Bosa and Parsons have pulled ahead of the pack, the 49ers star certainly has a statistical advantage. His two sacks on Saturday brought his league-leading total up to 17.5 for the season.

Bosa also added four quarterback hits and two tackles for loss against the Commanders. He is up to 42 quarterback hits and 18 tackles on the season. The three-time Pro Bowler has put up those stats despite missing one game in Week 6 because of a groin injury.

Parsons didn't have a sack, quarterback hit or a tackle for loss on Saturday against the Philadelphia Eagles. The 23-year-old has 24 quarterback hits, 14 tackles for loss and 13 sacks overall. He has played in all 15 games for the Cowboys this season.

Since returning to the lineup in Week 7, Bosa has recorded at least one sack in eight of the past nine games.

Bosa could also benefit from being arguably the best player on what has been the NFL's best defense this season. San Francisco allowed 20 points to the Commanders, ending its streak of seven consecutive games holding opponents to 17 points or fewer.

San Francisco's defense ranks first in yards allowed (290.3 per game), rushing yards (75.0) and points allowed (15.3). It is tied for third in turnover differential (+9) and tied for fourth in takeaways (24).

The 49ers haven't had a Defensive Player of the Year winner since Dana Stubblefield in 1997.

If it has seemed like Kyler Murray and Kliff Kingsbury were on different pages for most of this season, there's a reason for that.

Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Josh Weinfuss, the Arizona Cardinals head coach and franchise quarterback have grown "increasingly distant" over the course of a lost year for the team.

Among the issues that have divided the two men are Murray's desire for "wanting more freedom at the line of scrimmage, particularly with running plays," but plays designed to get the ball into the hands of Arizona's playmakers didn't come to fruition "either due to miscommunication, a play breaking down or Murray improvising, and the disjointed attack created unpredictability for some of the team's pass-catchers."

Fowler and Weinfuss also noted the clashing personalities between Kingsbury and Murray trickled down to the rest of the locker room as they stumbled to the finish line last season and has continued into 2022.

The report also noted Kingsbury and Murray have both struggled with direct communication that would have helped calm the tension that had "become obvious" to people in the Cardinals locker room.

"Before Murray's injury, Kingsbury was described as 'extremely frustrated' with the quarterback per a team source, believing that his negativity, if not toxic, was 'starting to get to people' around the building," Fowler and Weinfuss wrote.

Cardinals passing game coordinator Cam Turner has been "forced to serve as a buffer" between Murray and Kingsbury this season.

It had become obvious to anyone watching Cardinals games this season that Kingsbury and Murray weren't on the same page. They were involved in a shouting match on the sidelines during an Oct. 20 win over the New Orleans Saints.

"He's real animated over there on the sideline sometimes," Murray told reporters the day after the sideline incident. "It's … 'Calm down, we're good. We're going to make it right.' We ended up scoring, so that was good, but that's all I was saying. Just chill out."

Kingsbury said at the time the team was "working through as an offense where we want to be and what we want to do, and you have competitors that have a level of intensity like that, I think it will keep pushing us forward."

The Cardinals have completely collapsed over the past 12 months. They are 5-15 in their last 20 games, including the playoffs, after winning 10 of their first 12 games during the 2021 season.

Despite the team's rough finish last season, Arizona signed Kingsbury and general manager Steve Keim to extensions in March that run through the 2027 campaign. The Cardinals announced on Dec. 14 that Keim was taking an indefinite hiatus due to health-related reasons.

The Cardinals should have also had a celebratory moment when Murray signed a five-year extension in July, but even that was marred because of a clause that required him to do four hours of independent film study each week during the season.

Amid blowback from the clause, the Cardinals removed it from the contract.

Murray's season came to an end on Dec. 12 when he tore the ACL early in the first quarter of the Cardinals' 27-13 loss to the New England Patriots. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the 25-year-old is on track to be ready for the start of the 2023 regular season.

The Cardinals (4-10) are tied with the Los Angeles Rams for the second-worst record in the NFC with three games left to play. They have just one winning season since 2016.

It was fun while it lasted, but the magic of Baker Mayfield ran out after just over a week for the Los Angeles Rams.

Mayfield and the rest of the offense put forth a lackluster effort in a 24-12 loss to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Monday Night Football. The 27-year-old finished with 111 yards and a touchdown against one interception. He was sacked five times.

Just last week in another primetime matchup on Thursday Night Football, Mayfield powered Los Angeles to a comeback win over the Las Vegas Raiders two days after being claimed off waivers.

That feel-good moment feels like months ago, as Monday's performance was a reminder as to why he was waived by the Carolina Panthers.

NFL Twitter didn't hold back its wrath:

The Rams will not have a chance to defend their Super Bowl title in the playoffs after falling to 4-10. Los Angeles has had multiple key players suffer injuries, including Cooper Kupp, Matthew Stafford and Aaron Donald.

While Mayfield is behind center, Los Angeles has to accept that there will be more performances like he had Monday. The 2018 No. 1 overall pick has not proved he can produce consistently.

The Rams will look to bounce back at home against the Denver Broncos (4-10) on Christmas Day.

Ahead of Monday night's game between the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams, the NFL announced that each team had a player selected to the 2023 Pro Bowl Games.

Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald and Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander were the first players revealed to be members of the NFC side. The full Pro Bowl Games rosters will be unveiled Wednesday.

Donald will not play Monday because of an ankle injury. He has recorded 49 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, five sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in 11 games.

Donald has been selected to nine Pro Bowls, earning the honor every year since he was drafted No. 13 overall in 2014. He didn't participate in the 2022 Pro Bowl because the Rams made it to Super Bowl LVI, and they defeated the Cincinnati Bengals for their second Super Bowl championship in franchise history.

Alexander will make his second Pro Bowl appearance thanks to a bounce-back performance. After an injury-marred 2021, the 25-year-old has returned to form with 48 tackles, 12 passes defended and a career-high four interceptions through 12 games.

The 2023 Pro Bowl will be unlike any other, as it will feature a flag football game with squads coached by Peyton and Eli Manning. Leading up to the contest, the 2023 Pro Bowl Games will include various challenges and competitions among players.

The Pro Bowl game will be held Feb. 5 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Colt McCoy suffered a concussion in Sunday's game against the Denver Broncos and was replaced by third-string quarterback Trace McSorley, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

McCoy appeared to suffer the injury in the third quarter after taking a knee to the head while being tackled.

McCoy completed 13-of-21 passes for 78 yards and one interception before exiting.

The 36-year-old had been listed on the injury report earlier this week after sustaining some ailments in a Monday Night Football loss to the New England Patriots.

Sunday's game against Denver marked McCoy's third start of the season. He's playing in place of starting quarterback Kyler Murray, who suffered a season-ending torn ACL in Monday's game against New England.

McCoy also started a Nov. 13 win over the Los Angeles Rams and a Nov. 21 loss to the San Francisco 49ers while Murray was sidelined with a hamstring ailment. In those two starts, he completed 70.4 percent of his passes for 456 yards and one touchdown against one interception.

Entering for Murray in Monday's loss to the Patriots, McCoy completed 27-of-40 passes for 246 yards and one interception.

McSorley had appeared in just three games this season before entering on Sunday. Before joining the Cardinals, he spent the first two seasons of his career with the Baltimore Ravens, which selected him in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL draft.

The Cardinals will be eliminated from playoff contention if they lose to the Broncos.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray is expected to be ready for the start of the 2023 NFL season despite a torn ACL, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The recovery is expected to take six to eight months, which should put him back on the field by the end of August.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Murray suffered a "clean ACL tear, with no damage to other ligaments in his knee."

Murray suffered the season-ending knee injury during his team's Dec. 12 matchup against the New England Patriots on a non-contact play during a first-quarter rush.

The loss of the 25-year-old was a major blow to the Cardinals. He's the long-term face of the franchise after signing a five-year, $230.5 million extension through the 2028 season.

Murray earned that contract after leading Arizona to an 11-win campaign and a playoff appearance last year, its first since 2015. He earned his second straight Pro Bowl honor as well.

This season was not as successful, but the 2019 Offensive Rookie of the Year still completed 66.4 percent of his passes for 14 touchdowns (seven interceptions) and 2,368 yards (6.1 per attempt). He added 418 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Ultimately, it felt like the Cardinals were running uphill all season, which started with a 44-21 home loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. They fell to 4-9 after the Pats game.

Being without key players for large swaths of time was partially the cause of the team's demise. DeAndre Hopkins missed six games after violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy. Zach Ertz suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 10. Marquise Brown suffered a non-surgical foot fracture. Injuries hit the offensive line as well.

Losing Murray was the biggest blow of them all in a lost season, though. Colt McCoy took over down the stretch, with Trace McSorley serving as backup.

The positive update still gives the Cardinals plenty of upside heading into the 2023 campaign.