The streak is now 22 straight preseason wins for the Baltimore Ravens, although the Cardinals really don’t care.
The result of Sunday night’s nationally televised 24-17 loss at State Farm Stadium means precious little, given who played for the Cardinals – and who did not.
The biggest news of the day was defensive end J.J. Watt testing positive for Covid, meaning he won’t be able to make the trip to Tennessee and practice against the Titans.
But Andy Isabella – remember him? – still is working hard to make an impression.
The 2019 second-round pick never has been able to carve out a role in the regular season, but with all the top wideouts on the sideline, he’s essentially become the No. 1 wideout for the team in two preseason games – all while trying to hang on to a roster spot.
Isabella had five catches for 54 yards against the Ravens on eight targets, and also drew a 37-yard pass interference call.
Lamar Jackson, like Kyler Murray, did not play. But there’s no way he could have played better than backup Tyler Huntley, who threw 14 passes in his two quarters of play and completed 13 of them, for 129 yards and a touchdown.
The Cardinals may not have had many defensive starters – only linebacker Zaven Collins played out of the anticipated starting lineup, and he was done after a couple of series – but defensive coordinator Vance Joseph certainly would’ve preferred to see better tackling.
Cardinals third-string quarterback Trace McSorley, again getting the start with Murray and Colt McCoy not playing, struggled against his former team. He threw two interceptions and was flustered much of the game by the Baltimore defense. But McSorley did engineer a TD drive in the fourth quarter, with the plays called by his teammate, Murray.
Murray also called a second TD drive when Jarrett Guarantano hit fellow rookie Jontre Kirkland, who made a leaping grab of a 15-yard throw.
More to come on azcardinals.com.
