TEMPE — The Arizona Cardinals’ 42-14 loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday can be summed up in one word:
Awful.
Outmatched, outmatched and outmatched, the Cardinals don’t have much to fall back on after Sunday’s blitz.
But as ugly as this 1-3 home loss was for the Cardinals, head coach Jonathan Gannon remains convinced that the Week 4 score is not indicative of where his team currently stands heading into its game against the 49ers from San Francisco.
“I said (to the team) today, you have a game like this and you think we have to blow everything up, demolish everything and we are so far away. That’s really not the case “, Gannon said Monday. “We’re close but not there yet with the way the last game went.
“If I didn’t think we were close, I would change everything, but I don’t think my answer is the right thing to do,” added the head coach. “We’re not that far away. We just have to play and coach a little better.
Despite the lack of major changes, Gannon acknowledges that adjustments are necessary if the Cardinals hope to reverse the losing trend in the Bay Area.
A look at some of the biggest:
Third downs all around
No matter how you shake it, the Cardinals haven’t been good at third since destroying the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2.
After seeing the Detroit Lions convert 50% of their third downs (6 for 12) in a 20-13 loss, the Cardinals defense saw that number jump to 75% (9 for 12) against the Commanders on Sunday . .
On the other side of the rock, Arizona’s offense has fallen flat in terms of conversions, going 1-of-9 (11%) and 4-of-11 (36%) respectively in each of the last two weeks.
Had it not been for three late conversions – when the game was out of reach – that latter figure would have been much worse.
For both sides of the football, the problems don’t start with the inability to succeed on third down. They start with the bottoms before that.
Last week, the Cardinals had just three third down chances on eight downs before the game got out of hand. Only one of them was converted.
The other five times had an average distance of 16 yards. None of them have been recovered.
“I always emphasize it before the third try. … We have to do a better job on first down and second down, and then on third down we have to execute and stay on the field to convert so we can stay on the field and keep drives going,” Gannon said Monday. .
“I know that any offense – from Pop Warner to the NFL – has a better chance of converting when it’s third down and manageable, so we need to do a better job there.”
It was the other side of the coin defensively, with the Commanders converting their first five thirds of four yards or less into first downs. Those conversions helped lead to two touchdowns and made rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels even more comfortable on the road.
Arizona managed to get Washington into less advantageous third down looks for the remainder of the game, with only two coming in five yards or less. But even then, the Commanders still converted five of their last seven.
The Arizona Cardinals defense needs to do a better job getting off the field on third down.
DC Nick Rallis explains how his unit can achieve this in the future: pic.twitter.com/tyFTMeG1Fb
– Cardinals Corner (@AZCardsCorner) October 1, 2024
“We have to get off the field a little more on third down. Many factors come into play. The more you can do that third-down and longer, the better,” defensive coordinator Nick Rallis said Tuesday.
“But ultimately it will come down to: What is the plan? Is the plan good or does it need to be better? Do we execute if it was the right decision or do we not execute? It’s all about all those things week in and week out to set the plan the right way and execute it at a high level.
If the Cardinals want to have a chance against the Niners, who have the seventh-highest conversion rate allowed (46%) and sixth-highest conversion rate (44.7%) on offense, it starts with improvement on third down .
Cut to the ground
Gannon said it best last week after watching the Lions rush for 187 yards and a touchdown in the Cardinals’ Week 3 loss.
“You’re not going to win many games if a team is rushing to make $80,” he said last Monday.
And you’re certainly not going to win many games by allowing 216 yards and four scores like the Cardinals did against the Commanders.
The unit has had no answer for opposing running backs in recent weeks. And with injuries continuing to pile up – one being Justin Jones’ season-ending triceps issue – the run defense continues to be tested.
Through four games, the Cardinals are 27th in run defense, allowing 146.5 yards per game.
And against a 49ers team that continues to flex its muscles in the running game, with or without star running back Christian McCaffrey, that means bad news for the Cardinals unless they can fix the leaky defense .
“(The 49ers’ running game) complements each other really well, from the way they set up their wide zone to the way they complement their interior running game,” Rallis said Tuesday. “It all sounds a lot like a defensive lineman. A backside cutoff is actually now a backside two. …And then all of a sudden they wash off and they wrinkle you.
“Everything syncs up really well and what they can create in a wide area is short edges and they can capture your advantage really well. That, coupled with the interior runs complementing and matching each other on defense, is ultimately what I think they do really well.
However, help could be on the way.
Now four games into the season, rookie defensive lineman Darius Robinson is eligible to be designated to return from injured reserve.
If he can then be activated during his three-week practice window, the rookie should instantly find himself in the rotation, if not a starting role, and give Arizona a notable upgrade.
Getting rotation piece Khyiris Tonga should also help lighten the load on a room that has seen an increase in defensive snaps since Jones went down and the rotation decreased.
Four full quarters of Marv
Rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. has come a long way from his Week 1, showing one catch for three yards, reeling in 14 of his 25 targets for 239 yards and four touchdowns over the last three weeks.
In Gannon’s eyes, Harrison’s rise continued against the Commanders, with the head coach saying Burns and Gambo from Arizona Sports that he felt that the recruit “had really taken a step” in defeat.
Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing doubled down on his head coach’s thinking Tuesday.
Arizona has managed to get Harrison more involved lately. It is now a question of doing it over four quarters.
While Harrison is averaging about eight targets per game over the past three weeks, he continues to do most of his damage in the first quarter behind nine catches (12 targets) for 177 yards and his four touchdowns.
In the remaining quarters, Harrison had six catches for 66 yards.
Last week was no different, with the rookie seeing just two targets over the final three quarters after four in the first two afternoon practices.
“I felt it too. We have to get the ball to our best players,” Murray said after the loss to the Commanders. “When we do good, you feel it. You feel like, “Okay.” The playmakers are making plays and everything is going well. But when things stagnate and you make a hat-trick… we started a drive with two holding penalties, it’s hard to make up for that.
“When you can’t get the rhythm and you’re off the field, everyone’s stats are going to look like that. This is how the game is played.
So why has Harrison been largely absent while the games continue?
A big factor has to do with Arizona’s performance on third down, as mentioned above.
Arizona Cardinals OC Drew Petzing agrees with his head coach:
Marvin Harrison Jr. had one of his best games as a professional in Sunday’s loss to the Commanders.
So why did the wideout (again) remain silent as the match progressed?
Petzing explains: pic.twitter.com/AZYrHsPr0i
-Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) October 1, 2024
“I think a lot of it over the last couple of weeks is because we haven’t been able to stay on the field,” Petzing said Tuesday.
“If you don’t convert your bets (third bets), you get fewer plays in those areas. In the second and third quarters, we struggled to convert on third downs. We have fewer opportunities at the plate and I think that’s a big part of it.
