Patriots-Cardinals Week 15 news, notes, and fun facts
FOXBORO -- The New England Patriots are fresh off their bye week and will head out west to take on the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Neither team has enjoyed much success as of late, as both are riding three-game losing streaks.
It's been over a month since either team enjoyed a victory, as both won their Week 10 games on Nov. 10: New England over the Bears in Chicago and Arizona against the New York Jets. The Patriots have since dropped games to the Rams, Dolphins, and Colts, while the Cardinals have lost to the Vikings and twice to the Seahawks.
While the 3-10 Patriots are just hoping to play their best football to close out the season, the 6-7 Cardinals are looking to stay alive in the NFC playoff picture. Here's everything you need to know heading into Sunday's Patriots-Cardinals tilt in Glendale, Arizona.
Patriots vs. Cardinals Week 15
- The Patriots lead their all-time series against the Cardinals, 9-7. That includes a 6-4 record in road games.
- New England is 2-0 at State Farm Stadium.
- The Patriots started 1-6 against the Cardinals, but have won eight of their last nine meetings and three straight. New England hasn't lost to Arizona since a 20-18 loss at Gillette Stadium during the 2012 season.
- Sunday will be New England's first trip to Arizona since a 27-13 win on Monday Night Football on Dec. 12, 2022.
- Led by quarterback Kyler Murray and running back James Conner, the Arizona offense is averaging 348 yards of total offense per game, which ranks 12th in the NFL. But at just 21.8 points per game, the Cardinals are the 18th-ranked scoring offense in the NFL. (That's still much better than New England's offense, which is 31st in the NFL at 17.0 points per game.)
- The Cardinals have the sixth-best rushing offense in the NFL, averaging 139.8 yards per game. Conner has led the charge with 863 yards on his 201 attempts (averaging 4.3 yards per carry) and five touchdowns, while Murray has been a threat with his 444 yards (averaging 7.7 yards on his 58 attempts) and four rushing touchdowns. The New England defense ranks 20th against the run, allowing an average of 124.7 rushing yards per game this season.
- Cardinals receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. leads all rookies with seven touchdown receptions. He's fifth among rookies in both receptions (55) and receiving yards (555) and ranks third with 86 targets.
- Arizona has turned the ball over in all but two games this season, and is a minus-3 in turnover differential for the year. (New England is at minus-6.) Murray has thrown five of his eight interceptions over the last three weeks.
Patriots-Cardinals Connections
- There are a handful of former Patriots on the Cardinals roster: DL Angelo Blackson, OL Hjalte Froholdt, OL Nick Leverett (practice squad), K Chad Ryland, and LB Mack Wilson Sr.
- Ryland struggled as a rookie for the Patriots last season, but has connected on 19 of his 23 field goals and all 15 of his extra points for the Cardinals in 2024. He was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for October after he hit three game-winning field goals for Arizona.
- Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort spent 15 seasons in the New England personnel department and won four Super Bowls with the franchise. He served as an assistant in 2003 and then had a long stint in the scouting department from 2006-19, including a six-year run as the team's director of college scouting.
- Patriots offensive line coach Scott Peters played for the Cardinals during the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
- New England offensive lineman Lecitus Smith got his start with the Cardinals as a sixth-round pick in 2022. He played 10 games for Arizona as a rookie, but was released ahead of the 2023 season.
Patriots-Cardinals Week 15 fun facts
- Drake Maye is averaging 9.1-yards per rush for the Patriots, racking up 345 yards on his 38 attempts. The highest rushing average for an NFL quarterback in a single season (minimum 80 attempts) is the 8.5 yards that Michael Vick averaged in 2006 when he had 1,039 rushing yards on 123 attempts.
- Maye has connected on 172 of his 256 passes, good for a 67.2 completion percentage. The highest completion percentage for an NFL rookie quarterback is 67.8, which was set by Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott in 2016.
- Rhamondre Stevenson now sits in 10th place on New England's all-time rushing list with 2,981 yards, and needs 19 yards on the ground this weekend to become the ninth Patriots running back to reach 3,000 career rushing yards.
- If Christian Gonzalez scores another defensive touchdown this season, he'll be the first Patriots player with at least two defensive touchdowns in a single season since safety Kyle Dugger had three defensive scores in 2023.
- Hunter Henry enters this week ranked fifth among New England tight ends with 191 receptions. He needs nine more receptions to become the fifth New England tight end to reach 200 receptions.
- Henry has at least one catch in 16 straight games, the longest streak for a Patriots tight end since Martellus Bennett caught a pass in 18 straight games between the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
- Marcus Jones is averaging 15.2 yards per punt return (380 yards on 25 returns) to lead the NFL. The last Patriots player to lead the NFL in punt return average was Gunner Olszewski, who topped everyone with a 17.3 yards-per-return average in 2020.
Tune in to Sunday's Patriots-Cardinals game on WBZ-TV -- the television home of the New England Patriots. Pregame coverage begins at 11:30 a.m. with Patriots GameDay, kickoff is set for 4:25 p.m., and after the game switch over to TV38 for full reaction and analysis on Patriots 5th Quarter!
