Arizona Cardinals Week 18 offensive snap counts, observations

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In the Arizona Cardinals' 37-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams Sunday, 20 players participated in at least one of the 55 offensive snaps.

Quarterback Jacoby Brissett and four offensive line starters left tackle Josh Fryar, center Hjalte Froholdt, right guard Isaiah Adams and right tackle Kelvin Beachum played every snap. Tight end Trey McBride played all but three and wide receiver Michael Wilson missed four.

Fifteen offensive players ended the season on injured reserve.

How was the playing time divided up? Below are individual snap counts for every player who got in the game offensively, grouped by position.

The first number after each name is snaps and the second is the percentage. Players in bold were starters.

Arizona Cardinals Week 18 offensive snap counts: Quarterbacks

Jacoby Brissett (55/100)
Active, did not play: Kedon Slovis
Reserve/injured: Kyler Murray

As he did all season, Brissett hung tough under pressure and did the best he could given the circumstances. Sunday, he completed 22 of 31 passes for 243 yards with two touchdowns, an interception and a passer rating of 101.9. There were also six sacks to make the total 37 times he was dropped in his 12 starts. He also ran three times for 19 yards.

Running backs

Michael Carter (29/53), Corey Kiner (14/25), Emari Demercado (12/22)
Reserve/injured: Trey Benson, James Conner, Bam Knight

Demercado’s 18-yard run on third-and-26 enabled him to be the leading rusher in the game with 29 yards on two carries. Carter had seven runs for 18 yards and Kiner 13 yards on three attempts. That made the total for the running backs 60 yards on 12 runs. They also combined for 64 yards on seven receptions. Carter was 3-21, Kiner 3-15 and Demercado 1-28 on the fake punt.

Carter finished with 333 yards to lead the team, which is the lowest team-leading total in the 38 seasons the Cardinals have played in Arizona. Demercado ended the season with 312 yards.

Wide receivers

Michael Wilson (51/93), Xavier Weaver (43/78), Jalen Brooks (15/27), Steven Sims (2/4), Tejhaun Palmer (4/7)
Reserve/injured: Andre Baccellia, Greg Dortch, Simi Fehoko, Marvin Harrison Jr., Zay Jones

Wilson had another outstanding game with 99 yards on five receptions (eight targets) and a 43-yard touchdown. He had a 56-yard play brought back because of a blindside block on Gaines and lost a potential 40-yard play when he had control of a pass, but Rams cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon wrestled the ball away for Brissett’s only interception of the game.

Witherspoon has a knack for making odd interceptions against the Cardinals. In Week 17 last season at SoFi Stadium, the Cardinals faced first-and-goal from the 5-yard line with 42 seconds remaining in a game they trailed 13-9. Murray sent a quick pass to McBride, who wasn’t fully turned around to the ball. It bounced off his helmet and Witherspoon made a diving interception at the 1-yard line to effectively end the game.

Still, Wilson finished the season with 1,006 yards, prompting Brissett to say afterward, “He's a beast. I was on the sideline tracking those numbers as close as I could without losing focus a little bit. It just speaks to the player that he is and the man that he is. Those are the guys you want to build teams around. He does everything right and does everything you ask for.

“I just know that milestone is something that he; when I first took over, didn't think that was possible but I told him we're going to find a way to get there. He put in the legwork, and I had the easy part of just finding ways to give him the ball. I'm super happy for him.”

No other wide receiver had a target in the game.

Tight ends

Trey McBride (52/95), Elijah Higgins (33/60), Pharaoh Brown (12/22), Josiah Deguara (6/11)
Inactive: Rivaldo Fairweather
Reserve/injured: Tip Reiman, Travis Vokolek

Targeted seven times, McBride caught seven for 65 yards and ended the season with 126 receptions, 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns. He finished second in the NFL in receptions behind only Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, whose 10 catches Sunday gave him 129.

Higgins had three receptions for 28 yards and Deguara, who entered the game with one catch for six yards, had two for 15, including an 8-yard touchdown.

Offensive linemen

LT Josh Fryar (55/100), C Hjalte Froholdt (55/100), RG Isaiah Adams (55/100), RT Kelvin Beachum (55/100), LG Jon Gaines II (40/73), LG Hayden Conner (15/27), T Demontrey Jacobs (2/4)
Inactive: LG Evan Brown (personal)
Active/did not play: T Christian Jones
Reserve/injured: RG Will Hernandez, LT Paris Johnson Jr., RT Jonah Williams, Valentin Senn

Conner had his most extensive action of the season, sharing time with Gaines.

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