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Cardinals insider Bob McManaman hands out his position-by-position grades for the Cardinals following their game Sunday against the Washington Football Team. Observations were made on immediate available information.
Passing offense: B+
Kyler Murray completed 26 passes for 286 yards and one touchdown and he made smart decisions in the passing game. The one time he didn’t was when he was getting bull rushed and threw a pass over the middle that was intercepted by safety Landon Collins. The pass blocking held up well and in addition to utilizing sure-handed receivers DeAndre Hopkins and Larry Fitzgerald, who combined for 15 caches and 118 yards, Murray also connected on a couple of long pass plays with Andy Isabella and Christian Kirk that resulted in two successful field goals.
Rushing offense: A
Arizona ran for 160 yards on 32 total carries, averaging 5.0 yards per attempt. Kenyan Drake led the way with 86 yards on 20 carries and Murray chipped in with an additional 67 yards and two long touchdown runs on eight carries out of the backfield. Murray’s always brought that element to his game, but he’s much more refined on choosing when and when not to tuck and run. The extra work and effort he’s put into it is showing.
Pass defense: B-
In the first half, it was dynamic. Washington quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr. couldn’t get anything going and the Cardinals sacked him four times in the first two quarters. But with a comfortable lead, the defense backed off and as a result, Haskins got things going, especially in the fourth quarter. Receiver Terry McLaurin finished with seven receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown, most of it coming against star cornerback Patrick Peterson. It was clear the Cardinals were showing respect for McLaurin’s 4.3 speed as Peterson often played a few yards off the wideout so as to not get burned deep downfield. In the end, it didn’t affect the outcome of the game.
Rush defense: B
Washington rushed for 117 yards and one touchdown, but again, much of it was during garbage time late in the second half. Rookie Antonio Gibson led the way with 55 yards and the lone score on 13 carries, likely wrestling the No.1 tailback role away from J.D. McKissic, but when the stops needed to be made, the Cardinals’ run defense made them. Inside linebackers Jordan Hicks and De’Vondre Campbell each had 10 tackles Chris Banjo, making his first start at strong safety for the injured Jalen Thompson, added nine.
Special teams: A
The return game didn’t produce anything to mention, but Zane Gonzalez was successful on all three of his field goals, hitting from 49, 33 and 28 yards. That should be of some comfort considering last week at the 49ers he missed a pair of long field goal attempts and the Cardinals brought in veteran kicker Mike Nugent, adding him to the practice squad. The Cardinals’ punt-cover unit also produced a turnover that led to Arizona’s second touchdown of the game.
Coaching: B
Coach Kliff Kingsbury said he made some terrible decisions during the game, and maybe there were a few questionable play calls, but his team is 2-0 for the first time since 2015 and his players are performing with an obvious sense of belief. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph saw plenty of good things from his unit, but it was disconcerting to see how Arizona’s defense took its foot off the pedal and stopped bringing the heat.
Have an opinion on the Arizona Cardinals? Reach McManaman at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @azbobbymac. Listen to him live on Fox Sports 910-AM every Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 on Calling All Sports with Roc and Manuch and every Wednesday night from 7-9 on The Freaks with Kenny and Crash.
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