The story since the bye week has largely been the same game after game. The Arizona Cardinals had two chances to beat the Seattle Seahawks and fight for first place in the division. They failed both times.

Today, they needed to beat the Carolina Panthers to stay in the hunt with the LA Rams beating the New York Jets. They failed.

The underlying issues of why this is happening is another issue for another article, but the fact is that the Arizona Cardinals are out of the playoff hunt and already looking forward to 2025.

In the meantime, what happened today and how did the various position groups perform? Let’s take a look.

Quarterback – C-

No, Kyler Murray didn’t put the entire team on his back today to force a win, but it also can not be argued that he had much help from the team around him other than James Conner. That is not an excuse though for a player in his sixth NFL season with a massive contract that comes with high performance expectations.

Still, Murray is supposed to be a special player and he did not look special today. There was a flash of the special quarterback in the fourth quarter with a 20-yard rushing touchdown, but it was too little too late.

Most concerning, late in the fourth quarter Murray made a boneheaded mistake throwing to a spot of the field without an obvious receiver and the Panthers picked off the floater and held the ball till the very end, effectively ending Arizona’s season. There has not been a game since the bye in which Murray has not made a similarly mind-bogglingly bad play.

Offensive Line – B-

There were certainly concerns about the offensive line going into this game with left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. out with a knee injury and center Hjalte Froholdt suffering from an illness.

Thankfully, Froholdt was able to play through illness and Kelvin Beachum plugged in at left tackle and played another decent game.

Overall, the offensive line played a fine game and were one of the few position groups that showed up and simply did their job althought their performance was noticeably impacted after Jonah Williams went to locker room with a knee issue in the third quarter.

Tight End – C

Hard to really grade this position since, in a major switch from previous weeks, Trey McBride did not feature heavily for the Cardinals offense.

McBride caught three of the four balls that came his way, but only for a gain of 20 yards and once again was kept out of the end zone to extend his scoreless streak.

Running Back – A

James Conner is every coaches dream power back. After Petzing belatedly figured out that the Panthers possess the worst run defense in the league, Conner truly took over the offense.

Sadly, Conner hurt his knee in the third quarter and did not reenter the game leaving Michael Carter and DeeJay Dallas as the remaining active running backs.

Without Conner’s special gifts the Cardinals offense was not the same and the Panthers took advantage of that fact.

Wide Receiver – C-

The reader would be excused for not believing the Cardinals have any wide receivers on the roster considering the lack of impact they have had in several games this season.

Petzing has faced severe backlash for not finding ways to get the ball to the No. 4 overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft, Marvin Harrison, Jr, and for good reason. Still, trying to force the ball to Harrison, Jr. has not worked out and the connection between Murray and his rookie receiver is still not there.

Michael Wilson has shown up in big moments several times this year and did have a major 38-yard grab in the third quarter that gave the Cardinals some life.

Defensive Line – C-

The Cardinals defensive line failed in the two areas that were criticial to helping their team succeed this afternoon; contain Chuba Hubbard and put pressure on Bryce Young.

Naquan Jones was the only defensive lineman to actually get to Young but otherwise the young, second-year quarterback had time to do what he wanted and even saw multiple gaps open up through the defensive line and broke off some major runs that put the Cardinals in a hole early.

Hubbard really started to have his way in the second half and on several drives basically controlled the entire Panthers offense, often getting through the first line of defense untouched.

Linebacker – C+

The most that can really be said for this group is that Baron Browning flashes occasionally and did manage to get Young on the ground today for a sack.

Otherwise, the linebackers did not have a significant impact on this game after being one of the most consistent position groups all season. That being said, Kyzir White’s sack in overtime gave the Cardinals much needed hope and forced a punt, but again, too little too late.

The problems containing Panthers running back Hubbard might have started with the defensive line but the linebackers are supposed to stem the bleeding and they failed consistently in that effort in the second half.

Secondary – B-

Young did not have an inspired passing game today at all, and that is largely thanks to a sticky Cardinals secondary that did not allow him many easy downfield passes.

Rookie Max Melton had some rookie moments, but he continues to show some flashes that indicate a bright future in the league. It was second-year cornerback Garrett Williams that had some coverage issues.

Budda Baker did Budda Baker things but a big coverage whiff in the fourth quarter put the Cardinals in tough position. Fellow safety Jalen Thompson teamed up with Baker to clean up a lot of mistakes.

Sean Murphy-Bunting has struggled in big moments all season and today was not an exception. Needing a big stop early in the fourth quarter he allowed a corner of the end zone touchdown that put the Panthers up by ten and effectively ended the Cardinals season. A bad individual performance but not necessarily indicative of the entire position group’s performance.

The Arizona Cardinals continue their 2024 NFL regular season schedule with an NFL Week 16 game against the Carolina Panthers today.

The Cardinals are coming off a 30-17 win against the New England Patriots at home in NFL Week 15.

The Panthers lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 30-14.

The Cardinals are 7-7 on the season. The Panthers are 3-11.

Follow our live updates of the game, which is being played at Carolina’s Bank of America Stadium, for the latest score, news, notes and analysis of the Week 16 NFL game Sunday.

NFL Sunday schedule: TV channels, how to watch NFL Week 16 games on television today

TV channel, time, how to watch Sunday: Arizona Cardinals vs Carolina Panthers game today

Watch Cardinals at Panthers with FUBO (free trial)

Cardinals vs Panthers schedule: What time is NFL Week 16 game?

The game is on Sunday, Dec. 22, at 11 a.m. MST, 1 p.m. ET.

NFL Week 16 schedule: TV channels, how to watch, how to stream games this week

Cardinals vs Panthers TV: What channel is NFL Week 16 game on?

The game can be seen on FOX.

NFL power rankings Week 16: Where are Cardinals, Panthers now?

Cardinals vs Panthers streaming: How do I watch NFL Week 16 game on livestream?

Streaming options for the Cardinals at Panthers game include FUBO and other streaming services that carry FOX.

NFL playoff picture Week 16: Where are Panthers, Cardinals now?

Cardinals vs Panthers announcers: Who is calling the NFL Week 16 game?

Chris Myers (play-by-play) and Mark Schlereth (analyst) are scheduled to be the announcers for the Cardinals-Panthers Week 16 NFL game.

NFL Week 16 announcers: Television broadcasters, announcing crews for NFL Week 16 schedule

Cardinals vs Panthers game odds: Who is favored in NFL Week 16?

The Cardinals are a four-point favorite over the Panthers in NFL Week 16 odds for the game, courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook.

Arizona is -225 on the moneyline, while Carolina is +180.

The over/under (point total) is set at 47 points.

NFL Week 16 odds: Who is favored in this week’s games?

Pregame reading for Cardinals at Panthers game today

Hey Arizona Cardinals, try giving Greg Dortch the damn football

Arizona Cardinals focal point: James Conner shines again as a key piece of the offense

Unpredictable Arizona Cardinals win a cat-and-mouse game

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How the Arizona Cardinals flexed, brought intensity in a bounce-back win over the Patriots

What we learned as Arizona Cardinals ride James Conner’s big day to victory over Patriots

NFL Week 16 predictions: ESPN matchup predictor’s picks, win probabilities for this week

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A self-described Arizona social media “villain” was arrested after he filmed himself allegedly spraying bed bug killer on groceries inside a Walmart as he boasted to police about his prank videos.

Charles Smith, 27, is accused of grabbing a can of Hot Shot Ultra Bed Bug and Flea Killer and unleashing the pesticide on a series of perishable items in the Mesa, Ariz. megastore around 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 19.

In the now-deleted video, the influencer filmed himself wearing a black hoodie and pink bandana while spraying the toxin on bananas, acorn squash, potatoes, lemons, green apples and Roma tomatoes at the store — located in a neighborhood southeast of Phoenix.

Police claim the TikTokker, who goes by the username WolfieKahletti, intentionally went to the store to film pranks for his channel.

Smith identifies as an online “troll,” according to court documents viewed by Az Family. He has more than 300,000 followers on TikTok.

The troublemaker allegedly told police that he makes between $6,000 – $10,000 per month filming his provocative prank videos.

”I think social media has got people doing crazy things out here,” Walmart shopper Xavier Griego told the outlet. “It’s unfortunate that somebody would mess up their whole life, potentially, for something on social media for views.”

Smith voluntarily turned himself over to police on Dec. 21.

He faces charges of introducing poison (a felony) as well as three misdemeanors that include criminal damage, endangerment and theft.

A spokesperson from Walmart told AZ Family that store employees removed the directly impacted products and cleaned the affected areas of the store.

It’s not clear if any customers were injured from eating the contaminated items.

“This incident underscores the potential dangers of reckless actions disguised as social media pranks,” the Mesa Police Department said in a statement. 

Other videos posted online by Smith include the posts of him seemingly mixing in bacon and eggs in a stranger’s load at the laundromat as well as locking people inside a different grocery store.

The spray is “harmful if swallowed” and “prolonged or frequently repeated skin contact may cause allergic reactions in some individuals” per HotShot’s website. 

Suspects convicted of tampering with consumer products face up to 5 to 20 years in prison.

In 2022, an Arizona man was sentenced to 10 years of probation after being convicted of adding harmful chemicals to food at several retail stores in the Phoenix area.

David Lohr was ordered to pay restitution to a grocery chain for $390.42 and ordered to participate in a mental health evaluation and any additional recommended treatment.

There were no reported injuries or illnesses associated with the tampered items during the 2018 stunt, prosecutors said.

Lohr was accused of tampering with products at stores in California one year later and sentenced to a 51-month prison term followed by three years of supervised release with mental health services.