Positives from the Arizona Cardinals’ second defeat
By Jim Koch
In what was the Arizona Cardinals worst game of the Bruce Arians era there were rays of sunshine for the club to build on
It couldn’t have been fun for the Arizona Cardinals to watch the game tape from this past Sunday. Not only were they beaten thoroughly by the Buffalo Bills, they also contributed to the loss by beating themselves. Though not easy to find, there were aspects of the game that they could build off of.
Working in their favor is the fact that the rest of the NFC West seems as erratic as Arizona. Despite the horrible performance on Sunday, they certainly seem to match up well with the other three teams. When all is said and done, it’s hard to imagine them not repeating as division champs.
Although they quickly have suffered two losses, both were to AFC teams. If the Cards are gonna lose its much better they do it out of conference. The games obviously count in the loss column but in no way affect playoff tie-breakers.
As far as the game, it was great to see wide receiver John Brown contributing. While he’s been slow to recover from a training camp concussion, he finally surfaced, catching six balls for 70 yards. He also put his team in scoring position (although they failed to capitalize) with an exciting 51-yard kick return.
Cornerback Marcus Cooper is looking like a steal. He combined with Patrick Peterson to hold quarterback Tyrod Taylor to 119 yards through the air. He also made a touchdown-saving tackle at Arizona’s one-yard line, forcing a Bills field goal.
Running back David Johnson was excellent again, accumulating 111 yards from scrimmage and two rushing touchdowns. His first touchdown of the game was an amazing individual effort. He has star written all over him and could flirt with 2000 yards from scrimmage this season.
The pass-rushing linebacker tandem of Chandler Jones and Markus Golden both recorded a sack for the third consecutive game. They also combined for nine tackles, including four tackles for a loss. Both appear to be headed for double-digit sack campaigns.
Safety Tony Jefferson continued his superb play, amassing a team-leading nine tackles plus a sack. He’s the best Cards’ safety of a very deep group. He’s heading towards a very nice payday in 2017.
Kicker Chandler Catanzaro was the lone star of a poor special teams unit. He drilled a fourth-quarter 60-yard field goal that got the team within two scores. He also filled in admirably for hurting punter Drew Butler, booting one punt an impressive 47 yards.
As debilitating a loss as it was, it wasn’t all bad, some Cardinals did show up. They will need a more all-around effort this weekend, with the division rival Los Angeles Rams coming to town. One more loss would be devastating to not only their Super Bowl hopes but also their playoff hopes.
Hopefully more than just a handful of Cardinals show up for the extremely important game. Before the season gets away from them.