Week three clash should result in Arizona Cardinals victory

The front office of the Arizona Cardinals has assembled what seems to be an extremely talented roster for the upcoming campaign. But despite the marked improvement, there doesn’t appear to be many “pushover” opponents for the team on the 2021 schedule. That assessment may not necessarily apply in week three, however, when Arizona meets a downtrodden squad that won just one game in 2020.

The Jacksonville Jaguars, a club that totally changed it’s identity over the past few months, will likely be handled quite easily by the Cards on September 26th. The revamped Jags will have a new head coach (Urban Meyer) and a new starting quarterback (Trevor Lawrence) this coming fall. The exact same scenario occurred in the desert back in 2019, when Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray were brought in to provide a jumpstart for a rudderless Cardinals organization.

Lawrence, the top selection of last month’s NFL Draft, will be asked to revitalize a Jacksonville offense that finished an ugly 28th-overall last season. Darrell Bevell, Meyer’s hand-picked coordinator, was hired to design a scheme that will put more points on the scoreboard. Lawrence will get to throw to pass-catching targets like Marvin Jones (newly-signed), D.J. Chark and Laviska Shenault Jr. when the ’20 campaign gets underway.

The Jaguars ground attack will feature Travis Etienne, the second of the franchise’s two opening-round choices, and second-year player James Robinson. Etienne, Lawrence’s teammate at Clemson University, was voted First-team All-ACC following each of the past three seasons. Robinson registered 1,070 rushing yards, 344 receiving yards and 10 total touchdowns in 14 starts as a rookie last year for Jacksonville.

Defensively, the Jaguars possess a couple of incredibly productive linebackers. Joe Schobert racked up 141 tackles and three interceptions, while Myles Jack tallied 118 tackles and five pass breakups last fall. Talented cornerback Shaquill Griffin was acquired during free agency, and nose tackle Malcolm Brown was obtained as part of a trade with the New Orleans Saints.

It looks as if things may be on the upswing for Jacksonville, but it could take awhile before the reconfiguration of the squad translates into more victories. The Redbirds will have to endure a long plane ride to Florida, but their performance on the field should not be affected by the journey. Cardinals 40, Jaguars 16.