Arizona Cardinals defense does them in again

Once again too many mistakes do the Arizona Cardinals in on Sunday at State Farm Stadium

It’s easy to think just how quickly this game could have gotten out of hand had the Pittsburgh Steelers had any offense.  As it is, they did just enough to defeat the Arizona Cardinals 23-17 on Sunday afternoon.

The Cardinals quickly fell behind 10-0 after a good Steelers offensive drive and a punt return for touchdown.  The Cardinals caught them but it really never felt like the Steelers lost control at any point.

Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray for the first time this season looked like a rookie.  He held the ball too long at times.  He didn’t throw it away when he should have and threw 3 interceptions but could have been more.

He did have 2 touchdown passes but it wasn’t enough to overcome the mistakes.  Murray was also sacked 5 times on Sunday.

Murray’s 3 interceptions were half of what he had thrown all season coming into this game.  He seemed to be very indecisive all afternoon.  His last interception was when the Cardinals were driving deep.

Murray could have run the ball into the end zone.  Instead he tried to force a throw into the end zone and was picked off by Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt.  Steelers cornerback Joe Haden had the other two inceptions of Murray.

Other recurring issues showed up as well for the Cardinals on Sunday.  Bad tackling, the Cardinals defense has shown all season they may need to go back to basics on that.

The missed tackles resulted in just 135-yards passing for Steelers quarterback Devlin Hodges.  However without their top running back James Conner, the Steelers were able to still gain 140-yards on the ground.

They had 7 penalties, which in itself was not overwhelming.  However it was the timing of them.  Again, when the Cardinals defense could have gotten off the field, they were called for personal fouls and pass interference.

The one bright spot on offense was running back David Johnson.  He only had 19-yards on just 3 carries, however he caught 2 passes for 34-yards.  One of those was a touchdown catch.

Though Johnson had just the 5 touches, it was the best he looked in weeks.  He did look like he was trying, so at least effort was there when given a chance. Now, it’s on to face the Cleveland Browns to close out the home portion of their 2019 schedule.