NFL Week 3 Game Recap: Arizona Cardinals 31, Jacksonville Jaguars 19

In a helter-skelter game, the Arizona Cardinals remained unbeaten by scoring 21 unanswered points in the second half to secure a 31-19 road victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

The Cardinals' defense led the charge, notching three takeaways and harassing rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence continuously in his third career NFL start. Meanwhile, Kyler Murray paced the Arizona offense with an efficient day through the air despite tossing an interception.

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Arizona Cardinals

Quarterback

Kyler Murray had another efficient game through the air that slightly masked his only interception of the game.

Couple these numbers with his lone rushing touchdown, and he performed despite not making any big-time throws on first review.

Running Back

James Conner made his presence felt in the second half with two huge rushing scores that helped break the game open for Arizona. His 30 rushing yards after contact, four first-down runs and two forced missed tackles capped off an important effort on the ground.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

DeAndre Hopkins had an underwhelming receiving performance while nursing an injury, but Christian Kirk and A.J. Green made up for it. Both are on track to earn 75.0-plus PFF grades on first review.

Tight end Maxx Williams saw just three targets all game, but he did catch all of them for 19 yards and a first down. He's set to earn near a 60.0 grade, pending review.

Offensive Line

While the Cardinals' line allowed only one hit and didn’t surrender a sack,  Kyler Murray was hurried nine times by the Jaguars. Josh Jones led the way with zero pressures allowed on 39 pass-blocking snaps.

Defensive Line

J.J. Watt and Chandler Jones each earned pending 70.0-plus pass-rushing grades on the edge for the Cardinals. They combined for 11 pressures, including five quarterback hits. Watt ended the game with a strip-sack of Trevor Lawrence to finish off an adequate afternoon.

Linebacker

Jordan Hicks‘ PFF pending 91.2 pass-rushing grade was headlined by a sack and six pressures. He also recorded five tackles, including one for loss.

Secondary

Byron Murphy Jr.’s pick-six in the third quarter was part of his dominant day in coverage versus Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars’ offense. Murphy is on track to earn a 90.2 coverage grade, pending review, after snagging two interceptions and allowing just 45 yards on five catches.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Quarterback

Trevor Lawrence’s woeful rookie experience continued against the Arizona defense. Lawrence had more turnover-worthy plays (3) than big-time throws (1) while throwing two interceptions and getting sacked three times. In an optimistic sense, he did throw a late first-half touchdown pass to D.J. Chark Jr.

Running Back

James Robinson was finally featured in the Jacksonville offense, and he rewarded the team (and potential fantasy owners) with a solid performance. Robinson had three explosive runs, five rushing first downs and 63 yards after contact in a solid showing. He was also able to get his first rushing score of the season.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

While D.J. Chark had the lone touchdown reception of the game, it seemed like Lawrence had the best passing connection yet again with veteran Marvin Jones Jr. Jones reeled in seven grabs for 72 yards on 10 targets, with four of them going for first downs. 

Tight end Jacob Hollister caught only two of his five targets and turned those receptions into just 15 yards. He earned a sub-par 45.8 receiving grade on first review.

Offensive Line

The Jaguars' line lost Cam Robinson early due to injury, and the unit finished with a 51.0 pass-blocking grade on first review. Jacksonville allowed 16 pressures, nine hurries, five hits and two sacks on Lawrence.

Defensive Line

Jacksonville's defensive line was pretty underwhelming when it came to rushing the passer. The group didn’t collect a sack and notched only one hit on the elusive Kyler Murray.

Linebacker

Myles Jack put together a dismal performance in an otherwise forgetful outing for the Jaguars' defense as a whole. Jack surrendered four catches for 32 yards the five times he was targeted while making just one defensive stop on 27 run snaps.

Secondary

While Jacksonville didn't surrender a touchdown pass and picked off Murray once to spark a brief run, the team couldn't neutralize the Cardinals’ chain-moving aerial attack.

Tyson Campbell’s first start as an NFL cornerback featured mixed results. He surrendered three catches on four targets for 52 yards and two first downs.