Arizona Cardinals defensive stand not enough in loss to the Commanders
By Sion Fawkes
The Arizona Cardinals didn’t have an ideal situation at quarterback going into Week 1 with Josh Dobbs heading into the contest as the starter in lieu of the injured Kyler Murray. But you couldn’t have asked for a better day from the Cardinals defense, who allowed just 248 yards in four quarters. They did everything in their power to put Dobbs and the offense in position to win, the latter just never capitalized.
The Cards ravaged quarterback Sam Howell for six sacks, with Dennis Gardeck enjoying one of his best days as a pro. Gardeck brought down the second year Howell twice, one of which was a strip sack that Cameron Thomas picked up for a touchdown.
Jonathan Ledbetter, Carlos Watkins, Leki Fotu, and Victor Dimukeje also pitched in, showing us that the Cardinals pass rush is alive and well after one week. Overall, you couldn’t have asked for a better day from the Redbirds defense, but the offense almost single handedly lost this game. No, correction: The offense did single handedly lose this football game.
Josh Dobbs, Arizona Cardinals offense puts up a dismal performance
James Conner provided the lone bright spot for the Cardinals running game, snagging 62 rushing yards on 14 carries. Marquise Brown and Rondale Moore also pitched in on the ground, with the former taking his lone carry for 29 yards.
The big story, however, was Josh Dobbs, whose two lost fumbles didn’t help matters in this one. Dobbs finished with a decent 21 completions on 30 attempts, but he proved to the Red Sea that he is what he’s always been: a backup. Dobbs threw for just 133 yards for a paltry 4.4 yards per pass, and he also lost 18 yards on three sacks.
Sure, it was his first game as a Cardinal after he spent most of training camp with the Cleveland Browns. But at the end of the day, there are no excuses: Jonathan Gannon and Company put their faith in him and he didn’t deliver.
If Dobbs strings together another pedestrian performance in Week 2 (and that’s being generous) do you call on Clayton Tune to provide a spark? We will see what happens next week when the Cardinals host the New York Giants in their home opener.
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(Statistics provided by ESPN.com)