Arizona Cardinals vs. Baltimore Ravens: Preview, prediction
The Arizona Cardinals play their first nationally televised game of the season at homer against the Baltimore Ravens.
The Arizona Cardinals are ready to host a struggling Baltimore Ravens team at home on Monday Night Football. The Ravens (1-5) are coming off of a tough loss against an underwhelming San Francisco 49ers team, 25-20. The Arizona Cardinals (4-2) are also coming off of a loss of their own against the Pittsburgh Steelers, 25-13.
History: The Cardinals and the Ravens have faced each other 5 times in the regular season. The Arizona Cardinals have an all time 1-4 record against the Baltimore Ravens. The latest win against the Ravens came in Week 13 of the 1997 season. The Arizona Cardinals won by a score of 16-13 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland.
What: Baltimore Ravens at Arizona Cardinals
Where: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ
When: 5:30 PM Arizona Time (8:30 PM EST)
TV: ESPN and ABC 15
Radio: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM
Keys to victory:
The most important thing the Arizona Cardinals need to do to win this game is to eliminate the turnovers. Last week against the Steelers, quarterback Carson Palmer threw 2 interceptions, and one of those came in the end zone that effectively ended the game. Palmer, and everyone for that fact, is going to have to take care of the football. Another problem that has plagued the team in losses the lack of red zone production. The offense is 2 for 9 in the red zone in losses. The offense will need to put touchdowns on the board in what I expect to be a shootout.
Establish the run game. The Arizona Cardinals offense has played well collectively when the ground game gets going. Last week, the running backs gained a total of 56 yards n the ground with 40 of those coming from Chris Johnson. If the Cardinals can get the running game going early, it will put less pressure on Palmer and will open up the playbook more and keep the defense guessing.
The offensive line surrendered only one sack last week to the Steelers. This week the line have to keep their eye on Elvis Dumervil who is most likely the Ravens best pass rusher. While I don’t expect the offensive line to have trouble, it will still need to be something they need to keep track of.