• Somers and McManaman at Cards practice Wednesday

    Somers and McManaman at Cards practice Wednesday

  • Carson Palmer looks ahead to 49ers

    Carson Palmer looks ahead to 49ers

  • Somers and McManaman on the Cardinals following loss to Cowboys

    Somers and McManaman on the Cardinals following loss to Cowboys

  • Arians recaps the Cardinals' loss to the Cowboys

    Arians recaps the Cardinals’ loss to the Cowboys

  • Somers, Bickley discuss Cardinals' loss to Cowboys

    Somers, Bickley discuss Cardinals’ loss to Cowboys

  • McLellan and McMananan discuss Cardinals loss to Cowboys

    McLellan and McMananan discuss Cardinals loss to Cowboys

  • Arians, Palmer and Fitzgerald talk on Cardinals' loss to Cowboys

    Arians, Palmer and Fitzgerald talk on Cardinals’ loss to Cowboys

  • Kent Somers and Bob McManaman on Cardinals vs. Cowboys

    Kent Somers and Bob McManaman on Cardinals vs. Cowboys

  • Shot Clock: Anthem, matchup questions surround MNF

    Shot Clock: Anthem, matchup questions surround MNF

  • Somers, McManaman preview Cards-Cowboys

    Somers, McManaman preview Cards-Cowboys

  • Arizona Cardinals Harold Goodwin and James Bettcher on prep for Cowboys

    Arizona Cardinals Harold Goodwin and James Bettcher on prep for Cowboys

  • Somers, McManaman report on Wednesday's practice

    Somers, McManaman report on Wednesday’s practice

  • David Johnson speaks for first time since injury

    David Johnson speaks for first time since injury

  • Cowboys are coming: don’t sell your tickets!

    Cowboys are coming: don’t sell your tickets!

  • azcentral sports' Kent Somers and Bob McManaman discuss Cardinals victory over Colts

    azcentral sports’ Kent Somers and Bob McManaman discuss Cardinals victory over Colts

  • Bruce Arians discusses his thoughts about Colts, Cowboys

    Bruce Arians discusses his thoughts about Colts, Cowboys

  • Kent Somers, Dan Bickley discuss Cardinals' win

    Kent Somers, Dan Bickley discuss Cardinals’ win

  • Shot Clock: Cards (eye) roll; ASU's 'real' player

    Shot Clock: Cards (eye) roll; ASU’s ‘real’ player

  • Cardinals game vs. Colts preview with Kent Somers and Dan Bickley

    Cardinals game vs. Colts preview with Kent Somers and Dan Bickley

  • Somers and McManaman on the state of the Cardinals

    Somers and McManaman on the state of the Cardinals

  • Arizona Cardinals running back D. J. Foster talks after Wednesday practice in Tempe.

    Arizona Cardinals running back D. J. Foster talks after Wednesday practice in Tempe.

  • CJ2K mad at Cards; Palmer needs to get right

    CJ2K mad at Cards; Palmer needs to get right

  • azcentral sports' Kent Somers and Bob McManaman discuss Cardinals practcie Wednesday

    azcentral sports’ Kent Somers and Bob McManaman discuss Cardinals practcie Wednesday

  • Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer talks after Wednesday practice in Tempe.

    Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer talks after Wednesday practice in Tempe.

  • Shot Clock: Could the Cards recruit death stare Adrian Peterson?

    Shot Clock: Could the Cards recruit death stare Adrian Peterson?

  • David Johnson seeking a second opinion on wrist injury

    David Johnson seeking a second opinion on wrist injury

  • Bruce Arians discusses loss to Lions

    Bruce Arians discusses loss to Lions

  • Bickley and Somers on Cardinals' season-opening loss

    Bickley and Somers on Cardinals’ season-opening loss

  • Kent Somers and Bob McManaman on David Johnson's injury

    Kent Somers and Bob McManaman on David Johnson’s injury

  • Cardinals vs. Lions: Kent Somers and Dan Bickley preview the game

    Cardinals vs. Lions: Kent Somers and Dan Bickley preview the game

  • Bob McManaman wraps up Cardinals practice on Friday

    Bob McManaman wraps up Cardinals practice on Friday

  • Shot Clock: Chiefs-Patriots lessons for Cardinals

    Shot Clock: Chiefs-Patriots lessons for Cardinals

  • Arizona Cardinals report: Thursday's practice

    Arizona Cardinals report: Thursday’s practice

  • Shot Clock: Cards a slim pick, what are the keys?

    Shot Clock: Cards a slim pick, what are the keys?

  • Cardinals report: How will Bucannon's absence affect team?

    Cardinals report: How will Bucannon’s absence affect team?

  • Shot Clock: Detroit Lions, Super Bowl champions?

    Shot Clock: Detroit Lions, Super Bowl champions?

  • Reaction to Cardinals' move at punter

    Reaction to Cardinals’ move at punter

  • Somers wraps up the Cardinals' preseason finale

    Somers wraps up the Cardinals’ preseason finale

  • Cardinals vs Broncos preview

    Cardinals vs Broncos preview

  • Somers and McManaman wrap up Cardinals' Tuesday practice

    Somers and McManaman wrap up Cardinals’ Tuesday practice

  • Shot Clock: CJ2K stays?; Drown out LA fans

    Shot Clock: CJ2K stays?; Drown out LA fans

  • Sights and sounds from 9th Annual Fitz's Supper Club

    Sights and sounds from 9th Annual Fitz’s Supper Club

  • Arizona Cardinals break camp

    Arizona Cardinals break camp

  • McLellan and McManaman wrap up Cardinals practice

    McLellan and McManaman wrap up Cardinals practice

  • Somers on Cardinals vs. Falcons

    Somers on Cardinals vs. Falcons

  • Cardinals treating final preseason game seriously

    Cardinals treating final preseason game seriously

  • Kent and Bob talk Cardinals game planning and remaining preseason games

    Kent and Bob talk Cardinals game planning and remaining preseason games

  • Bickley and Moore: Cardinals looked 'sluggish'

    Bickley and Moore: Cardinals looked ‘sluggish’

  • Shot Clock: Cards' Palmer, 'D' gotta get better

    Shot Clock: Cards’ Palmer, ‘D’ gotta get better

  • Kent and Bob break down Cards' preseason loss to Bears

    Kent and Bob break down Cards’ preseason loss to Bears

  • Somers, McManaman on the Cardinals' 'boring' camp

    Somers, McManaman on the Cardinals’ ‘boring’ camp

  • Somers, McManaman on Arians' anger, receiving issues

    Somers, McManaman on Arians’ anger, receiving issues

  • Shot Clock: Cards WRs stink; anthem issue solved

    Shot Clock: Cards WRs stink; anthem issue solved

  • Insider: Was Arians' criticism truth or motivational chatter?

    Insider: Was Arians’ criticism truth or motivational chatter?

  • Shot Clock: Stanton stands out for Cardinals

    Shot Clock: Stanton stands out for Cardinals

  • Shot Clock: Cardinals protecting QB Palmer?

    Shot Clock: Cardinals protecting QB Palmer?

  • Greg Moore and Bruce Arians talk charities

    Greg Moore and Bruce Arians talk charities

  • Gabbert's big chance, special team auditions

    Gabbert’s big chance, special team auditions

  • Shot Clock: Arians changes tone with Cardinals

    Shot Clock: Arians changes tone with Cardinals

  • Greg Moore and Bob McManaman break down the Red-White practice

    Greg Moore and Bob McManaman break down the Red-White practice

  • Somers, McManaman on Gruden possibility, CB battle

    Somers, McManaman on Gruden possibility, CB battle

  • Shot Clock: Early hiccups for Cardinals

    Shot Clock: Early hiccups for Cardinals

  • Moore, McManaman wrap up opening day at Cardinals training camp

    Moore, McManaman wrap up opening day at Cardinals training camp

  • David Johnson's work load; D-Backs' head games

    David Johnson’s work load; D-Backs’ head games

  • Shot Clock: Cards kick off fan-friendly camp

    Shot Clock: Cards kick off fan-friendly camp

  • Somers sits down with Cardinals rookie Budda Baker

    Somers sits down with Cardinals rookie Budda Baker

  • Shot Clock: Blaine Gabbert a keeper for Cardinals?

    Shot Clock: Blaine Gabbert a keeper for Cardinals?

  • Kent and Bob talk new NFL rules and wide out depth

    Kent and Bob talk new NFL rules and wide out depth

  • Arians Family Foundation Fundraiser at Top Golf

    Arians Family Foundation Fundraiser at Top Golf

  • Report card on Cardinals QB Blaine Gabbert

    Report card on Cardinals QB Blaine Gabbert

  • David Johnson No. 1 on NFL Players Association list

    David Johnson No. 1 on NFL Players Association list

  • Bruce Arians talks about his annual fundraisers

    Bruce Arians talks about his annual fundraisers

  • Keim, Arians striking gold in draft's third round

    Keim, Arians striking gold in draft’s third round

  • Top 3 games in Cardinals schedule

    Top 3 games in Cardinals schedule

There are couple of handfuls’ worth of reasons the Cardinals have lost two of their first three games for the second consecutive year, including injuries, inconsistency at quarterback, poor blocking and assignment errors on defense.

Nowhere are the errors more apparent than in the red zone – the area between the 20-yard lines and the end zone.

The Cardinals have had the ball in that situation 11 times in three games and scored three touchdowns, a success rate of 27 percent. In the past two games, they scored one touchdown in seven red-zone opportunities.

Opponents have had eight such possessions and scored seven touchdowns, a success rate of 87.5 percent.

“We spent so much time on it, it’s kind of disappointing,” coach Bruce Arians said. “We’ve got to run the ball better, for sure. Defensively, we’ve got to stop the run better, and it is usually after a big play. We’ve got to play better defense after a big play put us down there.”

CARDINALS PODCAST: Anthem reaction, Cowboys breakdown, 49ers preview

One reason the Cardinals have struggled to score in the red zone the past two weeks is the absence of running back David Johnson. He suffered a dislocated wrist in the first game and is on injured reserve until at least early November.

Last year, Johnson led the NFL and set a franchise record with 20 touchdowns. Seventeen of those were from distances of 18 yards or fewer.

As Arians said, the Cardinals spent extra time practicing red-zone plays this offseason, but Johnson was healthy then.

“He was obviously a monster down there in the red zone because he caught a bunch of touchdowns, and he ran in a bunch of touchdowns,” quarterback Carson Palmer said. “He’s irreplaceable. No matter what team he’s on, if he gets injured, he’s irreplaceable.

“So, you go into the season with a ton of stuff built around him, and as soon as you lose him, you’ve got to change some things. Like I said, we’re still working on execution. We’re going to continue to do that as the season goes on without Dave.”

MORE: Are Cardinals finally get some good news regarding offensive line?

Offensive linemen know they’re not blocking well enough. Right guard Evan Boehm said the Cardinals can’t blame their problems on Johnson’s absence.

“Look over here to your right,” he said in the locker room on Wednesday. “There are a bunch of running backs that are good enough to do it. It’s the guys back behind me (offensive linemen), we have to go out and protect better. It’s time to put it on the offensive linemen. We’ve got to go out and finish our blocks and win our one-on-one battles.”

In the past two games, penalties contributed to two red-zone failures, including a holding call that nullified a touchdown Monday night against the Cowboys.

The run blocking has been poor in the red zone and everywhere else; the Cardinals are averaging just 2.8 yards per carry.

Passing hasn’t worked, either. In three games, Palmer is 11 of 26 for two touchdowns in the red zone, according to profootballreference.com.

“The way we’re getting played, a lot of the times, everybody’s decided to sell the ranch to stop the run,” Arians said. “You’ve got to throw it, and we’re not doing a very good job of that.”

Arians, who calls plays, accepted blame, too, saying the Cardinals have used too many run-pass options (RPOs) in the red zone. Palmer has the ability to adjust those plays just after the snap, and too often the Cardinals aren’t gaining enough yardage when he attempts quick passes to receivers.

“It’s never one thing, but just execution,” Palmer said. “We’ve had some opportunities around the ball and just not quite all on the same page, here or there. Same thing in the passing game. We’ve had some opportunities to score, and we just haven’t executed the way that we expect ourselves to execute.”

Defensively, the Cardinals rank ninth in the NFL in yardage, but they are 32nd in stopping opponents from scoring once in the red zone.

On Monday night, the problem was stopping the run near the goal line. The Cowboys gained 40 yards and scored two touchdowns on four rushing attempts in the red zone.

“That’s where we have all our mental errors, down there, right now,” inside linebacker Karlos Dansby said. “They’ve been able to punch it in on the ground, which is insane. It shouldn’t happen. Make them throw the ball, we got a chance. We can’t let them run the ball.”

MORE: Cardinals’ OL continues to be team’s biggest punching bag

MONTINI: What the heck were Cardinals fans booing?

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions