Part of the Arizona Cardinals historically bad performance this past weekend has to do with the fact that the offensive line could not block anyone. Quarterback Clayton Tune may have had one of the worst debuts for a quarterback in team history, but when you look closer at his advanced statistics, you can see that he did a few things right.
For one, roughly 70 percent of all his throws were on target, and only two of his passes in Sunday’s game, or 9.5 percent of them, were considered “bad throws,” which equals 9.5 percent. But one reason for Tune’s awful day came from the fact that the Browns pass rush overwhelmed the Cardinals offensive line, and when your quarterback takes seven sacks for 41 yards, you’re in for a horrific day on offense.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, they get to face another stellar pass rush in the Atlanta Falcons. Don’t let Atlanta’s meager 19 sacks fool you - their pass rush is a lot better than what it looks like on the surface.
Arizona Cardinals must deal with another relentless pass rush in Week 10
So far, the Falcons blitz just 23.5 percent of the time on dropbacks, which is the 12th-lowest number in the league. But they are sixth in the league with 34 hurries, fourth with a 10.4 hurry percentage, second with 38 quarterback knockdowns, second in quarterback knockdown percentage at 13.1, and fifth with 91 total pressures.
And worse, the Arizona Cardinals offensive line has given us little hope that they can handle decent pass rush units for most of the season. So the bottom line is: They must be more prepared to take on another top-notch pass rush this week better than they did in Week 9. If not, Kyler Murray’s return will amount into a long afternoon in Glendale.
(Statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference)