3 things the Arizona Cardinals defense must improve in Week 4 against the 49ers
By Sion Fawkes
Now that we know they are capable of winning games against talented football teams, the Arizona Cardinals have a legitimate chance to beat the San Francisco 49ers. However, San Francisco is at least a shade better than Dallas, so this game isn’t one that the Cards will realistically win by a pair of scores.
Therefore, they need to get their act together in several places defensively if they want to celebrate their second major upset win in as many weeks. For one, the Cards have a pair of starting corners who haven’t impressed anyone this season, and they need to step up their game now more than ever.
The rushing defense is once again near the bottom of the league’s barrel, and they still have major problems in committing penalties. Against a team like the 49ers, the latter is something that they can’t afford this week.
Arizona Cardinals defense must improve in…
1 - Pass coverage
The Arizona Cardinals have allowed 699 passing yards this season, which ranks 21st in the league. Much of this has come by the way of spotty cornerback play between starters Marco Wilson and Kei-Trel Clark.
Wilson is coming off of a stellar sophomore campaign, but he looks more like the Marco Wilson we came to know in 2021 instead of the version we got last season. There is still time to turn it around, and Week 4 would be opportune.
Clark is a rookie, but that shouldn’t be an excuse. The Cardinals trusted the sixth-round pick enough to start him over the likes of a few seasoned veterans like Antonio Hamilton and Kris Boyd, and so far, opposing quarterbacks have picked on him often.
While Clark has made a few good plays this season, he has overall been a disappointment. The same goes for Wilson, and one of these two must step up this week if they want to shut down the 49ers passing game.