4 awful stats from Week 4 the Arizona Cardinals cannot repeat vs. Bengals
By Sion Fawkes
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.
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(Statistics provided by ESPN.com)