Arizona Cardinals: 3 things we need to see from offense

4 of 4

HOUSTON, TX – NOVEMBER 19: Jadeveon Clowney #90 of the Houston Texans and Benardrick McKinney #55 tackle Adrian Peterson #23 of the Arizona Cardinals for a loss in the fourth quarter at NRG Stadium on November 19, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

Balance

We brought this up a few weeks ago but apparently it needs to be brought up again. The Cardinals can’t abandon the running game so fast.

The Cardinals went into the fourth quarter hanging on to a 21-17 lead. Of course they left Houston with a 31-21 loss, having been outscored 14-0 in the fourth quarter.

The number of passing plays doubled the number of running plays against the Texans. The Cardinals ran the ball 18 times. They threw the ball 36 times. Not many games are won in the NFL playing like that.

The long ball and the passing game are great. However in this league you need to be able to run as well. They don’t have to be perfect.

Mistakes will happen but the gameplan needs to stay in place. The game had not gotten out of hand. After carrying the ball 37 times against the San Francisco 49ers on November 5th, Adrian Peterson ran the ball just 14 times on Sunday.

If people don’t like 37 carries but 14 isn’t enough, what is a happy medium. That number seems to be 25. We;ll see what the Cardinals offense has in store this week at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Home/Cardinals News