While it was an upset on paper, the Cardinals' 24-10 thrashing of the Steelers was anything but a fluke. Arizona (3-10) dominated in all three phases en route to its first road win since Week 10 of last season. Pittsburgh (7-5) not only lost the game, but also quarterback Kenny Pickett to an ankle injury late in the first half.
Aside from Pickett's injury, the story of the game was the brilliance of running back James Conner, who rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns against his former team.
Not even the Steelers or two weather delays would stop the Cardinals, who led 10-3 at halftime after Kyler Murray capped off a 99-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown pass to Trey McBride. The score was set up by Arizona's defense after it stonewalled Najee Harris on fourth-and-goal on the first play following Pickett's injury.
Arizona started the second half with another scoring drive that was punctuated with a touchdown run by Conner. Conner then sealed the win with a nine-yard touchdown run and a 30-yard run after Pittsburgh made it a two-score game.
Here's a closer look at the Cardinals' shocking win.
Why the Cardinals won
A big reason for Arizona's success was its dominance on third down and in the red zone. The Cardinals were 10 of 17 on third down compared to Pittsburgh's 4 of 11. Arizona was 3 of 3 in the red zone, while the Steelers were 1 of 3.
Arizona was 5 of 5 on third down on its 99-yard scoring drive that included Murray's touchdown pass to McBride.
Why the Steelers lost
Pittsburgh was woefully out-played, and when they weren't being out-played, they were shooting themselves in the foot with penalties and poor execution. An example of this was center Mason Cole's low snap that led to a fumble that set up Conner's game-winning touchdown run midway through the third quarter. Chris Boswell's missed field goal after play resumed in the third quarter was another example of poor execution.
Defensively, Pittsburgh struggled to contain Conner and Murray. Injuries to Pickett and Elandon Roberts (groin), guard Isaac Seumalo (shoulder) didn't help matters. With Roberts out, the Cardinals took full advantage of a Pittsburgh defense that continues to suffer injuries at inside linebacker. Minkah Fitzpatrick was also physically compromised; Pittsburgh's Pro Bowl safety played the second half with a cast protecting a broken left hand, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said during his postgame press conference.
The Steelers' offense struggled to do much with Mitch Trubisky under center, as question marks continue to surround Pittsburgh's underperforming offense.
Turning point/play of the game
While it wasn't pretty, Pittsburgh appeared to be in control of the game late in the first half. They were having success on the ground and had a first-and-goal on the Cardinals 7-yard-line. Everything changed, however, after Pickett left the game with an injury on a short run on third-and-goal.
On the very next play, Harris was stopped short of the goal line by Kevin Strong and Jesse Luketa. Arizona then proceeded to march the length of the field while taking a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
Quotable
What's next
Pittsburgh has a short week before they host New England on Thursday night. While the Patriots are not having a good season, Bill Belichick has historically had the upper hand over the Steelers. Belichick is 13-4 against Pittsburgh during his time in New England but is 0-1 in games without Tom Brady as his starting quarterback.
Arizona finally heads into its bye week before beginning the final month of their season with a home game against the 49ers. San Francisco recorded a 35-16 win over Arizona back in Week 4. Christian McCaffrey starred in that game with four touchdowns and 177 total yards.