The Arizona Cardinals trounced the Chicago Bears, 48-23, on Sunday, as head coach Bruce Arians’ aerial attack inflicted major damage on a porous Chicago secondary.
Not only did Carson Palmer put on a show, but veteran wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald turned back the clock with a gaudy statistical display that won some owners their weeks. Receiver John Brown helped pace the offense as well, but Fitzgerald was the man of the hour.
Here’s a rundown of how the three Arizona players fared:
Carson Palmer
If Palmer wasn’t considered a QB1 before, he should be now. After throwing for 307 yards and three scores against the New Orleans Saints, the Arizona signal-caller put up 185 yards and four scores on 17-of-24 passing.
While Palmer’s yardage total decreased significantly, his ability to pick apart Chicago’s secondary was overwhelmingly encouraging.
Grouping Palmer with elite fantasy passers like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Andrew Luck and Ben Roethlisberger would be a stretch, but owners can take comfort in knowing Arians will let his QB stretch the field week in and week out.
With a matchup looming against a San Francisco 49ers secondary that got torched by Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Palmer should be considered a top-five play in Week 3.
Larry Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald was targeted a team-high nine times, and he continually made plays reminiscent of ones he churned out regularly during his prime.
NFL Network provided a look at his steady hands in coverage:
So through two games, Fitzgerald has 14 catches on 17 targets for 199 yards and three touchdowns. Furthermore, the 112 yards Fitzgerald racked up against the Bears were the most he posted in a single game since last November against the St. Louis Rams.
At this point, it’s clear Fitzgerald is Palmer’s favorite target. So long as the quarterback stays healthy, Fitzgerald should remain a rock-solid WR2 for players in all formats.
John Brown
The good news for Brown: He caught all five of his targets for 45 yards. The bad news: He didn’t get into the end zone.
However, Brown did draw a long pass-interference penalty in the early going as Palmer continued to show trust in the speedster on deep downfield throws.
Owners who slotted Brown in their lineups against a shaky Bears secondary were undoubtedly disappointed with the relatively mundane performance, but he will continue to offer big-play fantasy potential moving forward.
Consider him a flex play at worst and a WR2 against weak pass defenses.
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