4 awful stats from Week 4 the Arizona Cardinals cannot repeat vs. Bengals
By Sion Fawkes
At one point last week, the Arizona Cardinals managed to claw their way within five points of the mighty San Francisco 49ers, but they were clearly outclassed. This week, they face a Cincinnati Bengals team that has been to back-to-back AFC Championship Games, despite their current struggles.
And given the way the Cardinals played last week, particularly on defense, they give the Bengals a perfect situation to get back on track. So, looking at last week’s numbers in the Redbirds loss to the Niners, there are four horrific stats that contributed to them allowing 35 points.
Let’s look at them, and discuss how the Bengals can take advantage of each if the Cards put together a repeat meltdown. Starting with how poorly their passing defense played against Brock Purdy and Company.
4 bad stats the Arizona Cardinals cannot repeat in Week 5
1 - Giving up 13.5 yards per pass
Last week, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy put up 13.5 yards per pass on the Arizona Cardinals defense. While Purdy is fully recovered from the torn UCL he suffered during the playoffs last season and Joe Burrow is struggling to work his way through an injured calf, the latter is far more physically gifted.
There is a reason why one man was taken first overall and the other 262nd overall. Despite Burrow’s injury, he’s good enough to overcome it if the Cards defense allows him, and the way they played last week, it shouldn’t surprise you if they do.
Arizona must find a way to keep Burrow in check, since if they allow 13.5 yards per pass again, you can expect them to give up another 35 points this Sunday. And while the Cardinals offense is facing a substantially weaker defense, they have yet to put 30 points on the scoreboard in 2023.