New England Patriots: Studs and duds from Week 12 vs. Cardinals

Stud: Patriots defense against Murray and the Cardinals

For the most part, New England’s defense stepped up and held a top-notch offense in check during the course of the Week 12 contest in Foxborough.

The Patriots were faced with the challenge of taking on a potent offense led by quarterback Kyler Murray and company on Sunday afternoon, and New England’s top-tier defensive group came up big when the team needed it to most.

The Patriots defense allowed the Cardinals to throw for 170 yards on 23 completions while running for 138 yards and two touchdowns on 38 carries. Arizona’s offense has been an impressive one this season, and New England did a nice job against that unit.

Dud: Talent on the outside of the field continues to be an issue

As much as the passing game led by Cam Newton has been an issue this year, the biggest reason for that is because the lack of talent on the outside of the field with the wide receiving group.

On Sunday afternoon, that once again arose as an issue for the Patriots against the Cardinals, although New England still did enough to pull out with a win by the end of the game.

One of the biggest reasons for that lack of talent in the receiving group has been the injury issues most notably with Julian Edelman and N’Keal Harry, resulting in the wideout group being left thin for Newton to try and find through the air.

In Week 12, just two wide receivers finished with a catch in the game, those wideouts being Jakobi Meyers and Damiere Byrd who combined for just eight catches.