3 reasons why Arizona Cardinals will beat the Bengals
By Scott Allen
The stat sheet
Anyway you look at it, the Cardinals are better than the Bengals. The Cardinals are better than the Cardinals, at least the 2018 version of themselves. It’s some of the little things that add up to big things that are costing them games right now.
The Cardinals are 25th in scoring. The Bengals are sitting at 30th after their 3-point output on Monday night. Arizona ranks 23rd in total yards while Cincy ranks 27th.
Cincy is slightly better in passing yards but Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray has a slight advantage over Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton in completion percentage. Dalton did a great deal of his damage to the Seattle Seahawks in week 1 when he threw for 418-yards.
Cincy is dead last in rushing offense and they have Joe Mixon. If you’re looking for an offensive line worse than the Cardinals, need look no further than the Bengals.
There is a difference on defense. The Cardinals have given up the second most yards per game behind the Miami Dolphins. The Bengals have given up the ninth most yards.
The Cardinals defense has 11 sacks while the Bengals have 5. Cardinals linebacker Jordan Hicks leads the NFL with 48 tackles.
The Cardinals have yet to record an interception though, one of just two teams to not do so along with the Denver Broncos. They do have 8 forced fumbles but have recovered only 3 of them. At least Cincy has 2 interceptions.
The stats say slight advantage to Cardinals overall but when both teams are winless at this point, this may not be the greatest barometer. After all, the Cardinals were pretty even with the Seahawks last Sunday.