Arizona Cardinals defense must not underestimate opposing quarterback
By Sion Fawkes
The Arizona Cardinals enter a much-anticipated Monday Night Football matchup against a Dallas Cowboys team who just lost franchise quarterback Dak Prescott for the season.
But that should not give the Arizona Cardinals a reason to think the Cowboys offense will miss a beat with quarterback Andy Dalton taking the reins. In fact, the Cardinals should expect a tweak in the Cowboys game plan that will adhere to Dalton’s strengths.
In weeks one through five, we saw a borderline air raid offense from Prescott and his dynamic trio of receivers in Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, and Michael Gallup. But look for the Cowboys to pound the rock early and often with Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard, drawing in a Cardinals defense that has struggled to stop the run to open things up for the dink and dunk passer Dalton is known as.
Such a strategy has worked wonders in the past for the quarterback who through his first nine seasons logged 133 starts, five playoff berths, and three Pro Bowl appearances. Better yet, with the talent the Cowboys have at receiver gives us further reason to believe how well Dalton can party like its 2015 on Monday night.
Given Dalton’s past successes in the NFL, he isn’t your typical backup quarterback. There are a handful of teams in the league right now who could plug and play the former Cincinnati Bengal. Couple this with the Cardinals difficulties in stopping the run and weakness at cornerback and this game can easily become a quarterback duel.
Especially against a Cardinals team that is weak at cornerback. Add in the fact Chandler Jones is out for the season and it gives Dalton a recipe for success against a Cardinals defense that will struggle to find a pass rush. And if edge rushers Devon Kennard and Dennis Gardeck can’t go, the defense is in trouble. Both players are listed as questionable heading into the Monday night affair.
We will see what happens on Monday night. But one thing is certain: The Cardinals defense cannot underestimate Dalton’s strengths. Those of us in the Red Sea need to hope for the best but expect a hot hand from Dalton if the Cowboys running game gets going early.