If he and his teammates are going to make it to the NFC playoffs, Patrick Peterson and the Arizona Cardinals will first have to defeat a Los Angeles Rams team that can also win their playoff ticket with a victory in Week 17. And while the Cardinals quarterback, Kyler Murray, will play due to a leg injury, the Rams will be forced to start John Wolford, a former Alliance of American Football quarterback who has never played in a regular NFL game. Jared Goff, Rams’ starting quarterback, will lose the game after undergoing surgery on his injured thumb.
Peterson and his companions had experience in facing unknown defenders. In his second early career, Miami Dolphins rookie Tua Tagovailoa led the Dolphins to a 34-31 victory over Arizona in Week 9. The second early career for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts came with a defeat in Week 15 against the Cardinals. And while facing an unknown quarterback has its challenges, Peterson hopes to see the same offensive Rams attack he saw during Sean McVay’s time in Los Angeles.
“Honestly, I don’t think anything will change,” said the Cardinals veteran cornerback during this week’s podcast “All Things Covered” with Patrick Peterson and Bryant McFadden. “Their attack is all moving parts, where the quarterback is not back there, knocking anyone over, unless they are down. We have to make these guys uncomfortable. We have to win on the first down, we have to leave the field third Obviously, we have to minimize the points in the red zone. If we can do these three things, I think we will have a great opportunity to win the game. ”
Similar to how the Rams use Goff, Peterson believes that Los Angeles will try to get Wolford out of his pocket.
“Throw it, boots, screens, try to steal your eyes, give us those, ‘Oh, [expletive]”Play where you have closed ends hiding, escaping from the back,” said Peterson. “These are things you have to be prepared for.”
Eight times as a Bowler, Peterson hopes to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2015. In that season, the Cardinals defeated the Green Bay Packers in overtime during the division round before losing to Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers in the NFC title game. And while the Cardinals are only 2-4 in their last six games, Peterson thinks his team could make a splash in the playoffs if the Cardinals manage to win Sunday’s game.
“It’s for all marbles,” said Peterson of Sunday’s game. “Literally. It’s winning or going home. This is a playoff game. … We just have to go in, restart and see what happens after that.”
As far as his quarterback is concerned, Peterson is confident that Murray will rise for the moment, despite being below 100%. The No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft, Murray won his first Pro Bowl selection this season after becoming the third defender in league history to launch at least 20 touchdowns and play at least 10 goals in a season. Peterson believes that a quick start to the attack – something that has been lacking in the Cardinals’ previous six games – would be a big boost for the Cardinals.
“I know Kyler is a competitor,” said Peterson. “He knows what is at stake now, what is at stake, what we can do and where we can go after this game. I have no doubt that he will be right for us.”