Next opponent: A prime opportunity against a weak Cardinals team

The Steelers' offense broke out for its first 400-yard performance in 59 games en route to a much needed divisional win in Cincinnati, and now enter a weaker part of their schedule. No team in the NFL can be overlooked, which is why "any given Sunday" is a mantra repeated week after week. However, the Cardinals' weaknesses match up with the Steelers' strengths, giving Pittsburgh a prime opportunity to improve to 8-4.

Here's a breakdown of what Arizona brings into Week 13:

ARIZONA CARDINALS

Record: 2-10
Standing: Fourth, NFC West
Last result: Lost to Rams, 37-14

THE TREND

The Cardinals come into Sunday afternoon as one of the worst teams in the NFL. This doesn't come as any shock. Few projected Jonathan Gannon's team to compete in the NFC West, or even compete in a top-heavy conference for an outside shot at a wildcard berth.

Arizona has pulled off only two wins this season, one against the Cowboys in Week 3, which shocked just about everybody who watches the NFL on a regular basis. Otherwise, it's been a rough go of it for the Cardinals.

Their second win of the season came just three weeks ago against the Falcons, but the Cardinals have dropped their last two. And, they have yet to win on the road this season.

Last week, the Cardinals were gashed on the ground by the Rams, giving up 228 yards on 33 carries, an average of 6.9 yards per carry. That has to be salivating for a Steelers team that's averaging 174 rushing yards per game over the past four weeks. And, the Cardinals allowed Rams' tight end Tyler Higbee to catch two touchdown passes. With Pat Freiermuth coming off a monster nine-catch, 120-yard performance last week, expect the Steelers to try to exploit that weakness, as well.

THE QUARTERBACK

Part of the Cardinals' struggles this season was due to being without Kyler Murray for their first seven games as he recovered from a torn ACL 11 months prior. Murray made an immediate impact in his return three weeks ago, leading the Cardinals to their second win in a fashion that reminded everyone of the player he was before: Passing for 249 yards, an interception and rushing for another 33 yards and a touchdown, and leading the team to comeback victory, the ninth in his career.

The Cardinals have lost the last two with Murray under center, dropping games to the Texans and Rams. Murray's numbers haven't exactly popped off the screen in any of his three performances. In his three games since returning, he's completed 61.7% of his passes for 719 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, a passer rating of 79.9. 

Of course, Murray has the ability to hurt defenses with his legs, and he's racked up 86 yards and three touchdowns with his legs since returning. The Rams controlled his ability to hurt them on the ground, limiting him to only two yards rushing, though that one run for two yards was a touchdown early in the game:

Playing in a division with Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson, the Steelers are used to playing against mobile quarterbacks. And, the Steelers have played against Murray once before and had great success against him. The Steelers held him to 194 passing yards and only two rushing yards while forcing him to throw three interceptions in a 23-17 victory in 2019.

Despite his mobility, Murray is more than susceptible to being sacked. Murray's been sacked nine times in the three games he's played this season, and the Steelers sacked him five times in that 2019 game. Though he's not a rookie anymore, I'm sure Mike Tomlin will have a similar game plan. The Steelers love to get after the quarterback.

THE OFFENSE

The Cardinals aren't exactly a juggernaut on offense. Nevertheless, they still have players that can do some damage if defenses aren't careful.

Despite the offense as a whole averaging only 4.9 yards per play (only five teams have a worse mark), the Cardinals own the 10th-ranked rushing offense in the NFL. A big reason for that is a player Steelers fans know all too well: James Conner.

Nobody in Pittsburgh needs much explanation for the type of runner Conner is. He's run similarly since signing with the Cardinals ahead of the 2021 season. And, despite missing four games this year due to injury, Conner still has 526 yards on 104 carries in eight games, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. When the Cardinals are moving the ball well, it's because Conner is pulling off runs like this:

Murray has a couple of nice targets through the air in Marquise Brown and tight end Trey McBride. Steelers fans ought to be familiar with Brown from his days with the Ravens, and it doesn't come as any surprise that he's their leading receiver. However, McBride is right there behind him as the team's second-leading receiver, hauling in 48 passes for 521 yards and a touchdown. McBride's emergence even gave the Cardinals the confidence to mutually part ways with Zach Ertz this week, giving the veteran an opportunity to chase a Super Bowl ring with a contending team.

Even so, the Cardinals have still been quite poor through the air this year, averaging only 175.8 yards per game this season, which ranks 29th in the NFL. Murray's return ought to boost their production through the air, as well as their respectable 57.1% red zone conversion rate. However, this is still an offense with its fair share of flaws.

THE DEFENSE

While the Cardinals' offense has the potential to be dangerous, the defense severely lacks behind.

It's not a completely terrible unit. They've sacked the quarterback 32 times this season, which is the same amount as the Steelers. And, while T.J. Watt is far and away the Steelers' best weapon at getting to the quarterback, the Cardinals have a wide variety of players who have helped log those 32 sacks. Dennis Gardeck is the team leader with only five sacks.

The Cardinals also rank in the middle of the pack in pass defense, allowing an average of 218.4 yards per game through the air. That ranks 15th in the NFL. Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson at safety is a respectable duo and one of the reasons why the Cardinals have posted some respectable numbers in pass defense:

Even so, the Cardinals' peripheral numbers in pass defense are pretty rough. They are allowing 7.7 yards per attempt. Only four teams have a worse mark than that. Quarterbacks are also posting a 101.3 passer rating against the Arizona secondary, which is second-worst defensive mark in the league. The Cardinals also rank dead last in completion percentage against, as quarterbacks are completing 70.2% on their passes against this secondary.

In line with the aforementioned performance against the Rams,  where the Cardinals really struggle on defense is stopping the run. They rank 30th in the NFL, allowing 140.1 rushing yards per game. The defense is also giving up 26.8 points per game, which ranks 31st in the NFL. Teams are converting 47.0% of their third downs against the Cardinals, which is the worst mark in the league. And, 43.8% of drives against the Cardinals end in touchdowns, the second-worst rate in the NFL. There should be opportunities to score points against this defense.

THE SPECIAL TEAMS

Matt Prater handles the placekicking duties, and he's been very reliable for the Cardinals. He's made 86.4% of his field goal attempts this season, missing only one in the 30-39 range, and then made six of eight attempts beyond 50 yards. Greg Dortch handles the vast majority of the reps in both kick and punt returns. He's averaging 10.3 yards per punt return, and has pulled off a long of 49 yards this season.

THE INJURY REPORT

• Marquise Brown, WR (heel) -- Brown hasn't practiced since last Wednesday, but still managed to play through the injury last Sunday. He's officially listed as questionable for Sunday. Perhaps he'll be ready to go, but no practice in over a week is worth noting.

• Antonio Hamilton, CB (groin) -- Hamilton did not practice all week, and will be ruled out for the second straight game. He's the third option at cornerback, so his absence hurts the Cardinals' depth at a shaky position.

• Trey McBride, TE (groin) -- McBride didn't practice on Wednesday, but was able to participate in a limited fashion on Thursday and Friday. He's officially questionable for Sunday. With Ertz now gone, the Cardinals would be missing a vital part of their offense should McBride be inactive on Sunday morning.

• Starling Thomas V, CB (ankle) -- Thomas sustained the injury in the loss to the Rams last week, and he didn't practice all week. He's been ruled out for Sunday. With Hamilton and Thomas out, the Cardinals are desperately thin at cornerback, as there are currently no healthy corners on the active roster behind Marco Wilson, Kei'Trel Clark and Garrett Williams.

• Jalen Thompson, S (ribs) -- Thompson's ribs injury is a new development, as he missed Wednesday's practice then was only limited on Thursday and Friday. He's officially questionable for Sunday. Should he not be able to go, Andre Chachere would likely start at safety. And, it would further weaken an already beaten up Cardinals secondary.

• Michael Wilson, WR (shoulder) -- Wilson was long shot to play this week, and after missing practice all week, he was officially ruled out on Friday. Sunday will be the rookie's third consecutive missed game, and the fourth of his past five. In Wilson's absence, Dortch will continue to get an extended look in a top-three role in the Cardinals' receiver rotation.

• Joey Blount, S (knee) -- Blount has missed the past two games with a knee injury, but was able to return to practice this week. After being limited all three days' worth of work, Blount is officially listed as questionable heading into Sunday. He's the first option behind Baker at safety.

• Kevin Strong, DT (knee) -- Strong participated in all three of the Cardinals' practices during the week, but he was also limited for all of them, so he seems to be truly questionable for Sunday. If he misses his second consecutive game, 2022 third-rounder Cameron Thomas could see increased reps.

• Elijah Wilkinson, OT (neck) -- Wilkinson is working his way back from injured reserve, and was able to be a limited participant in practice all week. However, it's not enough for the Cardinals to activate him. He's officially ruled out for Sunday.

• Zach Pascal, WR (personal) -- Pascal showed up on Thursday's injury report as a 'DNP' due to personal reasons, then did not travel with the team on Friday, per Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com. However, Pascal is expected to join the team again Saturday. That would suggest he'll probably play on Sunday, but it's still worth watching Sunday morning to see if he gets a helmet or not.

QUOTABLE

"It’s a special place, for sure, starting back in college. Same stadium. As soon as I graduated high school, it was like a month, then I got down to training camp, then I was in Pittsburgh for the whole time. A special place, for sure. … I feel the love, for sure. It’s a lot of love there in the city. I’ve got a lot of respect for the people there. Just love for them taking a chance on me, giving me an opportunity when I was coming out (of college). I was dealing with all types of injuries and cancer. The Steelers still selected me. I’m forever grateful for that. Then, obviously the University of Pittsburgh, it’s one of the few schools that gave me a scholarship. I’ve got nothing but love for the people. It’s all love there." -- James Conner on playing his first game back in Pittsburgh

"(He’s a) good coach. He’s been around the block a little bit. Him with Coach Sullivan, I don’t really know him personally, but I saw a couple different changes this last week as they kind of took it over and they played good on offense last week, so a big-time challenge." -- Jonathan Gannon on Steelers' interim offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner and Mike Sullivan

"Yeah, I’m very aware of him. The last time I suited up against Steelers was my rookie year, so I’ve played against him before. Obviously, that was a while ago, but he’s a great player. They’ve got many great players over there so it’s going to be a good defense and it’s going to be a good challenge for us. We’ve got to be aware of him and we will be, so we’ll try to eliminate him as much as possible." -- Kyler Murray on keys to success when facing the Steelers' defense and T.J. Watt