The Arizona Cardinals have not lived up to playoff expectations many had for them over the summer; The Jacksonville Jaguars can’t say the same, as they are firmly in the playoff hunt and an AFC South Division crown.

They are doing it with good defense and good-enough offense. It has been very different for both teams, although the talent discrepancy is not as significant as one may think.

With Jacksonville, looking to stay in contention for a playoff spot, they should be on their toes against a Cardinals team with not much to play for at this point. The following is a list of the five best players in this game on either side of the ball who will have a large impact on how this game plays out.

Quarterbacks do not factor in this equation, but I will get a brief rundown of how look.

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The Cardinals’ offense has been fun to watch since Jacoby Brissett took over the starting spot. He had a historic game last week in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers, and I believe we will see more of that as the year goes on.

I’m not sure how many games Arizona will win with Brissett, but they will at least be entertaining.

I’m not sure how to define Trevor Lawrence other than disappointing. One of most highly-touted quarterback prospects ever has been average-at-best through five seasons. Liam Coen’s arrival was supposed to turn his career trajectory around, but he’s still just fine.

There’s nothing about Lawrence’s game that stands out to me, and he might be the worst quarterback Arizona faces the rest of the year.

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Three games in and I’m already considering Nolen one of the five best football players on the field. He’s earned every bit of that respect as a run defender, but he’s also flashed the pass-rushing skills he began developing in his final season at Ole Miss.

If you want to talk about highly-touted recruits living up to their status, Nolen is trending that way.

The Cardinals defensive line room is crowded with players, but the story has been Nolen, Calais Campbell, and everybody else. Nolen will be one of the most critical players to slow down a Jaguars’ run game dominated by Travis Etienne.

Their offense is borderline predicated on how Etienne plays, and Nolen has quickly become one of Arizona’s best run defenders.

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Speaking of Etienne, he’s bounced back in a dramatic way after a bad 2024 season. Jacksonville’s decision to pick up his fifth-year option was puzzling considering his age and such a bad year (along with his YPC under 4.0 in consecutive seasons), but they made the right call. He’s on pace to run for a career-best 1,239 yards and is averaging 4.7 YPC.

When Etienne is playing well, the Jaguars typically win games. He’s become the stabilizing force on an offense that can’t find consistent quarterback play.

The Cardinals’ run defense is middle of the pack, but they’ve been susceptible to getting blasted by good running backs this year.

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Don’t let the sack total fool you — Hines-Allen has been an elite defender this year. It’s been the story for most of his career, to be honest, but anyone who watches Hines-Allen play will tell you how great of a player he is. The Jaguars aren’t paying him $150 million for sacks — they’re paying him $150 million for everything he does.

Hines-Allen isn’t just another edge rusher the Cardinals will face this year thanks to his well-rounded skill set. There’s an infinite amount of ways that Hines-Allen can affect a game, and he’s maybe the best defensive weapon Jacksonville has to snuff out anything Arizona wants to do.

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After all the gassing up for Hines-Allen, we have to mention Lloyd, who is playing the best football of his young career. The Jaguars chose to decline the 2022 first-round pick’s fifth-year option, and he’s responded in a major way.

His tackle numbers are down from previous seasons, and he’s on pace for a career-low 71 tackles after posting 113+ tackles in each of his first three years.

But where Lloyd has been lacking in tackles, he’s making up for in coverage. Lloyd has a league-high four interceptions from his linebacker spot, including a 99-yard pick-six off none other than Patrick Mahomes.

What he’s managed to do in coverage should put fear into opposing offenses, especially considering the defense as a whole is second in the league with 13 interceptions. With Lloyd lurking in the middle of the field, the Cardinals may have a more difficult time than they have in a while passing the ball.

If there’s one player you can count on to keep the Cardinals alive in a game, it’s McBride. He’s perhaps the best tight end in football right now, and he’s 11th in the league entirely in receiving yards (first among his position).

But he’s scoring touchdowns at a rate we’ve never seen from him with seven scores; all but one of those have come with Brissett under center, by the way.

McBride will be facing one of the best linebacker duos in the league with Lloyd pairing up with Foysade Oloukun, who we didn’t even get to mention here. Although Brissett is throwing the ball around the yard like he’s playing a pick-up game with his buddies, he won’t be able to do nearly as much if McBride gets clamped.