Arizona Cardinals Defense Finds The Football

Aug 17, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals safety Tony Jefferson (36) runs the ball as he is pursued by Dallas Cowboys tight end James Hanna (84) and running back Lance Dunbar (25) during the second quarter at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

Saturday afternoon I felt like I was back at the Georgia Dome last November when the Arizona Cardinals offense struggled to score points on offense the the defense came up with turnover after turnover.  Only 12 points on offense Saturday, however with six turnovers created on Saturday, it kept the Cards in the game all day and eventually led to the 12-7 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

Of the six turnovers, five of them came in the first half.  Three of the turnovers were fumble recoveries and the other three were interceptions.  Quite honestly there were probably a couple of other passes that should have been intercepted that weren’t.

The defense today did allow a little more yardage than last week.  The turnover saved them today though. After a 43-yard catch and run by Cowboys running back Lance Dunbar, a hit on his legs jarred the ball loose and linebacker Jasper Brinkley was the right man in the right spot to recover the fumble. If the ball isn’t fumbled there, the Cowboys most likely score.

Safety Tony Jefferson had a big day, picking off two of the three Cowboys passes that ended up in Cardinals hands.  It may not be good enough for Jefferson to make this team though.  The team is loaded with talent in the defensive backfield.  It may however get him some other team’s attention or could get him onto a practice squad either in Arizona or elsewhere.

Linebackers Zack Nash and Alex Okafor both had impressive sacks on Saturday as well.  The fact that Arizona linebackers were able to find themselves in the Cowboys offensive backfield shows just how tough this defense can and should be this season.

Safety Tyrann Mathieu was all over the place doing his thing again.  He led the team with seven tackles.  It is safe to say the defense is ahead of the offense right now as far as the entire unit being on the same page.  That was basically what we experienced the entire 2012 season.  However this season the offense should be able to keep speed with the defensive performance.  For today though, it was about the defense once again.