It’s Official: The Arizona Cardinals are an awful second half team
By Sion Fawkes
The good news is that the Arizona Cardinals aren’t as hopeless of a 1-5 football team as the vast majority in NFL history have been. Their franchise quarterback and best defensive player are sidelined with injuries, and the latter, Budda Baker, has seen time in just one game.
The Cards were also without Jalen Thompson for this contest, and we haven’t even gotten to the plethora of defensive players already on injured reserve before this week. But even before the injuries piled up, it’s not like the Redbirds were playing good football in the second half, having blown two consecutive leads before their upset win in Week 3.
Through six games, the Cardinals have scored a paltry 30 points in the second half, and they have allowed opponents to put up 95 points in Quarters 3 and 4. Yeah, it’s been an awful season for the Cards, and their willingness to put it in cruise control in the second half has got to end if they plan on winning another game this year.
When will the Arizona Cardinals second half woes end?
Luckily for the Cardinals, they have started opening practice windows for quite a few players, including cornerback Garrett Williams, guard Dennis Daley, and EDGE rusher Myjai Sanders. Therefore, help is on the way in that regard, and if they can get quarterback Kyler Murray and safety Budda Baker back by Week 9, and perhaps James Conner come Week 10, then perhaps they can do something similar to what the Detroit Lions pulled off last season?
With Murray under center, the Cardinals offense won’t be so limited in its approach, as his physical abilities are much more prevalent than Dobbs’. Baker’s return would immediately upgrade the defense, and we all know how productive Conner is when healthy.
This isn’t to say the Cards would finish the year as the NFL’s most dominant team if they can get the aforementioned players back. But it would give them a chance to at least have more hope when the game’s final 30 minutes roll around.
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(Statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference)