Cardinals, Jets both on the upswing as they prepare to meet in Arizona

AP Sports Writer

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Cardinals have looked like a different team over the past few weeks, winning three straight games for the first time since 2021 to ascend into first place in the NFC West.

The New York Jets might have found some momentum with last week’s impressive win as well.

Jets veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers said beating the Texans 21-13 last week provided some much-needed relief for his team following a brutal five-game losing streak, but now isn’t the time to get complacent.

’We’ve got to find a way to bring it every single day,” Rodgers said. “The key for young players to learn is that consistency starts with the minute you walk into the building, and everything you do needs to be intentional. And that starts with the conversation you’re having, the time you get to work, the way you take notes.”

The Jets (3-6) travel to face the Cardinals (5-4) on Sunday.

Arizona is coming off perhaps its most impressive win of the season, dominating in every phase during a 29-9 win. The Cardinals have a half-game lead over the 49ers and the Seahawks for the division lead.

Cardinals QB Kyler Murray said he’s been a longtime admirer of Rodgers’ abilities and sounded a lot like the veteran quarterback when describing how his team couldn’t ease up.

Murray led the Cardinals to a 10-2 record in 2021 before they fell apart down the stretch, barely making the playoffs before getting dominated by the Rams in the wild-card round.

“It’s easy to kind of get caught up in the standings and all the outlook of the future, but we’ve been doing this too long to allow that stuff to affect what we have going on,” Murray said.

Jolly Rodgers

The 40-year-old Rodgers practiced on a Wednesday for the first time in a few weeks after dealing with knee, ankle and hamstring ailments.

He looked more mobile last week against Houston than he had in recent games. And after a slow start — 7 of 14 in the first half for just 32 yards, his fewest in an opening two quarters with 10 or more attempts in his career — Rodgers finished with a flurry. He ended up 22 of 32 for 211 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Garrett Wilson.

“Probably the best I’ve played,” Rodgers said. “I felt good about my play. Obviously, couldn’t go anywhere but up in the second half. When we’re all on the same page, which we were so many times, I’ve been saying that same thing almost every single week: ‘What’s the issue?’ Well, 10 guys are on the same page and one guy isn’t. Second half of that game, we had a lot of guys on the same page the entire time.”

Suddenly, some defense

The Cardinals have had a below-average defense for much of the season but put together a great performance against the Bears, sacking rookie Caleb Williams six times and limiting Chicago to just three field goals.

Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort was active at the trade deadline, adding Broncos linebacker Baron Browning in a effort to bolster a front seven that’s been hit by several injuries.

The Cardinals get another test this week trying to stop Rodgers.

“You’re not going to trick him, you’re not going to fool him, you’re not going to hit him,” Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said. “You have to affect him as much as you can, and you have to play good in the back end.”

What a rush

Haason Reddick’s contract holdout lasted all offseason, training camp and the Jets’ first seven games of the regular season. But he seems to be quickly rediscovering his pass rushing groove.

Reddick — who played his first four seasons in the NFL with the Cardinals — had his first half-sack last week for New York and had eight quarterback pressures, helping the Jets sack Houston’s C.J. Stroud eight times.

“I thought last week like he’s getting more and more not only in football shape, but more and more familiar with what we do defensively from a schematic standpoint,” Jets coach Jeff Ulbrich said of Reddick. “I thought he corrected some of his wrongs from the Patriots game (his debut). … It’s a game that he can build off of, for sure.”

Dynamic duo

Wilson and Davante Adams gave Rodgers and the Jets a peek at how the two wide receivers can take the offense to another level in the second half of the season.

Wilson caught nine passes for 90 yards and two one-handed touchdowns, while Adams had seven receptions for 91 yards and his first TD since being acquired last month from Las Vegas.

Wilson, the reigning AFC offensive player of the week, leads the NFL with 60 receptions and 94 targets. Adams has 14 catches for 175 yards and a TD in three games with the Jets.

“Well, it starts with protection, so we’ve got to be able to protect it up, but once we do that, teams got to figure out what they want to do,” Rodgers said. “It’s hard to double both guys, but if you do, that’s opportunities for everyone else, in the middle or on the outside. … Those guys are dynamic players, and it’s pick your poison.”

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AP Pro Football Writer Dennis Waszak in Florham Park, N.J., contributed to this report.

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