5 interesting facts for the Arizona Cardinals Week 5 matchup vs. Bengals
By Sion Fawkes
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Even your most obscure matchups this Sunday featuring a pair of 1-3 teams can give you some interesting facts, and the Arizona Cardinals Week 5 outing vs. the Cincinnati Bengals is no different. There are five compelling tidbits to know about the Redbirds and their upcoming opponent that make this contest more appealing than meets the eye.
We have a matchup from two quarterbacks who started the season with completely different expectations. Joe Burrow was supposed to be one of the NFL’s finest young stars, but a calf injury has kept him from playing to that potential in the first four weeks of 2023.
Joshua Dobbs is a career backup who was supposed to be DeShaun Watson’s understudy in Cleveland. But he’s become one of the more reliable names under center so far this season, having played generally mistake-free football. This is just one of many curious facts heading into the Week 5 outing in Glendale.
What to know about the Arizona Cardinals Week 5 matchup vs. Bengals
1 - Both defenses currently rank in the Bottom 10
Before the Thursday Night Football game between the Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders, the Cardinals and Bengals had the fifth and eighth-worst defenses in football from a total yards standpoint. The Cards were also one of just 10 defenses to have allowed at least 100 points across their first four games, while the Bengals rank near the middle of the league with 94 allowed.
Cincinnati’s rushing defense is also among the league’s worst, something I have mentioned a few times this week, but Arizona’s also remains in the Bottom 10. The Cards are also in the Bottom 10 in terms of passing defense, while Cincinnati is currently in the top half of the league in the category.
With such weak defenses, this game could feature more points, as the Bengals defense is statistically the worst the Arizona Cardinals have faced this season. The Redbirds offense came to life in Weeks 2 and 3, so if Josh Dobbs leads them over the 30-point mark in this contest, it shouldn’t surprise you.