The Arizona Cardinals looked lost for three hours as they traveled to the Lakefront and put up one of their worst performances ever. Defensively, they weren’t terrible, and held the Cleveland Browns to just 326 yards on 71 plays, or just 4.59 yards per play.
The problem? Arizona managed just 58 yards of total offense and 17 passing yards on 48 plays, which equals just 1.2 yards per play. Not only was it one of the worst efforts by a Cardinals offense, but this may have been collectively one of the worst offensive performances in the last three decades.
But, when you are down nearly half your starters, there is little else to expect than a four-possession loss. The good news is that the Cards have nowhere to go but up, and a healthier offense will make that possible.
3 takeaways from Arizona Cardinals big loss against Browns
1 - Offense must get healthy
If the Arizona Cardinals have to suffer through another week of Clayton Tune, Tony Jones Jr., and Keaontay Ingram in the backfield, then they will probably be playing a road game at home next week. We all know how badly things went for Tune today but hey, at least he looked decent running the ball, racking up 28 yards on five carries.
Meanwhile, the backs who were supposed to run the ball combined for 10 rushing yards on 12 carries. Add Rondale Moore to the mix, and the Cards got 13 yards on 15 carries. We can all agree that James Conner and Emari Demercado would have fared much better, so the Redbirds should hope at least one of those two are returning for Week 10.
Michael Wilson is arguably this team’s best receiver next to Marquise Brown, and it would also be a big boost if he returns. But the biggest boost this team could get is if quarterback Kyler Murray returns and at least makes the offense somewhat worth watching next week.
2 - Stills continues his upward trajectory
Despite the final score, the defense wasn’t awful, and Dante Stills’ performance stood out more than perhaps anyone else’s. Stills racked up five total tackles, one tackle for loss, and a quarterback hit. For a 213th overall pick in his first season, Stills has been one of the Arizona Cardinals more effective players on defense through the first nine weeks of 2023.
Leki Fotu gets an honorable mention, thanks to his five-tackle performance that also saw a half-sack, a quarterback hit, and two tackles behind the line. Fotu has struggled to separate himself over the first two months of 2023, and if he wants to stick around, he will need more games like this one on the season’s back nine.
And finally, Budda Baker and Kyzir White continue to pace the Cardinals, combining for 17 tackles and one behind the line. If both players stay in the desert long-term, the Redbirds will have a pair of outstanding leaders in more than the foreseeable future.
3 - Trey McBride needs to be the go-to
If anyone on offense looked at least remotely decent, it was Trey McBride, who had three catches on five targets for 22 yards. Only Marquise Brown fared better in both categories, but Brown also saw an additional three targets.
McBride is slowly becoming a proven player who, even with a raw talent like Clayton Tune getting completely overmatched, still found a way to catch 60 percent of the passes thrown to him. McBride also led the Arizona Cardinals in yards per reception at 7.3.
Next to McBride’s effort, and an honorable mention to Brown, there was nothing to get excited about for an offense that picked up 58 total yards on 48 plays. But, if Murray, Conner, Demercado, and Wilson can all return next week, the unit will ironically look a lot more feasible. We can only hope that will be the case, and the inevitable news this week will tell us what to expect on Sunday.
(Statistics provided by ESPN.com)