Through two games, the Cardinals’ offense has been all flash in theory and far too little in practice.
The opener against the Los Angeles Chargers produced 26 points, but that number came with a catch: Arizona settled for five field goals, hit four of them, and never really found a rhythm. Then came Game 2, and the whole operation looked stuck in mud.
Strip out Bam Knight’s 24 rushing yards at the end, and the Cardinals managed just 127 yards of offense. Even with those yards included, Arizona finished with 151 total yards, which is the franchise’s low point since 2023, when rookie Clayton Tune was thrown into the fire against the Cleveland Browns’ defense.
That day’s 58-yard outing was ugly, but it came with lower expectations. Outside of that game, you have to go back to 2018 to find an Arizona offense that finished below 151 yards.
The bigger problem isn’t just the production. It’s how little this group has done with the talent on the roster, especially beyond the second-highest paid tight end in the NFL.
The numbers through two games tell the story. Jeremiyah Love has 20 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown, plus five catches for 25 yards - 25 touches for 95 yards for the third overall pick.
Michael Wilson has seven receptions for 74 yards on 14 targets. Marvin Harrison Jr. has one catch for 33 yards on four targets, leaving the former fourth overall pick and the newly paid receiver with eight receptions for 107 yards on 18 targets combined.
Even Trey McBride’s stat line looked more like something out of a backfield than from a tight end: eight catches for 41 yards and a touchdown.
Nobody expected the Greatest Show on Turf by Week 2. But with this much talent, Arizona can’t keep turning in performances that drag the offense back to the Steve Wilks, Mike McCoy and Sam Bradford era.
The comparison gets messy - that old group had David Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk, though Johnson was coming off a career-altering injury, Fitzgerald was 35, and Kirk was a rookie in his second game - but the point stands. This wasn’t fun to watch in the least.
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Cardinals Suddenly Have A Bigger Problem Than One Ugly Loss
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Arizona has at least shown a knack for creating takeaways, recovering fumbles in back-to-back games, but that kind of splash play can only cover so much. The concern now is whether the Cardinals can clean up the broader problems that showed up against the Seahawks before they start to linger beyond one bad afternoon. [Read more 🡒]