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.
2 - Letting one receiver torch them for 24.7 yards per catch
Last week, Christian McCaffrey stole the show, meaning almost everyone forgot how effective Brandon Aiyuk was in catching the football. While McCaffrey racked up seven catches for 71 yards and a touchdown, Aiyuk impressed fantasy football players everywhere, racking up six receptions for 148 yards and an astounding 24.7 yards per reception.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Bengals have a star receiver in Ja’Marr Chase who can make huge plays when Burrow calls his number. Therefore, corners Marco Wilson and Kei’Trel Clark have got to step up if they plan on stopping Chase, or else it will be another long game for the Cardinals passing defense.
If they can prevent Chase from making big plays, however, Burrow could have a tough time connecting elsewhere, which could lead the Redbirds to contain this high-potential but currently struggling Cincinnati offense. If they can, it will take a huge weight off Joshua Dobbs’ and the offense’s shoulders.
3 - Averaging 39.0 yards per punt
What happened to the preseason sensation that was Nolan Cooney? It’s hard to believe that in late August, Cooney looked like a guy the Arizona Cardinals could just send out there and do his job without any flaws. That all ended yesterday after the Cards cut Cooney and signed the intriguing Blake Gillikin.
Gillikin had a good stint with the New Orleans Saints over the past two seasons, but if he repeats Cooney’s performance in his Cardinals debut, he just put a lot of unnecessary pressure on a defense that can’t handle a lot of it. And although the Bengals offense has been the league’s worst throughout the first four weeks of the season, recent history tells us they are still too good of a unit to give short fields to.
Therefore, Gillikin will face some pressure this week in delivering a promising debut. If that’s the case, the decimated Cardinals defense will thank him.
4 - Allowing methodic drives
49ers punter Mitch Wishnowsky had just one punt last week, and the Niners moved so well that the Cards, believe it or not, won the time-of-possession battle 30:46 to 29:14. This is because the Cards let the Niners move the ball in a textbook fashion, with Purdy and the offense garnering 7.5 yards per play.
This allowed the Niners to move the ball downfield with little resistance and the Cards defense looked more like a scout team in practice than a starting defense in a live game. Now that I think of it, a few of those who dressed and contributed were borderline scout team players to begin with, but sooner than later, that can no longer be an excuse.
Regardless of where you initially stand on the roster or depth chart, if Jonathan Gannon and Company believe you’re good enough to start an NFL game, you need to step up. The Cardinals defense didn’t do that, and they let the 49ers take control for most of the game. The Redbirds can’t fall victim to that two weeks in a row and expect to win.
(Statistics provided by ESPN.com)