After back-to-back 40-point losses to NFC West foes, the Arizona Cardinals responded well. They played inspired football and left it all out on the field, but still came up three points short against the Jacksonville Jaguars in overtime. “A couple plays away from winning a game. Love the fight, love the resilience. I thought we did some good things. That is a good football team; give them credit,” head coach Jonathan Gannon said postgame. “Ultimately, didn’t do enough in all three phases to win the game.”
Four Takeaways
The Arizona Cardinals’ defense arguably played its best game of the year on Sunday. They recorded three sacks and four turnovers against Jacksonville. The defense got the Cardinals on the board in the first quarter. Safety Jalen Thompson came free off the right side and hit quarterback Trevor Lawrence before he could start his throwing motion. The ball flew up into the air and landed in the lap of rookie defensive tackle Walter Nolen, who returned it seven yards for the score.
The Arizona Cardinals’ defense recorded three interceptions for the first time since Week 11 of the 2023 season. All-Pro safety Budda Baker made a highlight reel interception in the fourth quarter. He read quarterback Trevor Lawrence like a book and made a remarkable diving play in zone coverage. “I kind of baited him, honestly, because we got that rep in practice,” Budda Baker explained to the media postgame. “I just kind of sat there until Trevor threw it. Then I broke on it.”
Overall, the Arizona Cardinals’ offense couldn’t capitalize on the turnovers. Arizona went three-and-out following the first two interceptions. The offense finally put together a scoring drive after the defense’s third interception. “We’ve got to find ways to finish. It’s on me,” Jacoby Brissett said following the game. “We’ve got to find ways to finish drives with touchdowns.”
Bringing the Heat
The Cardinals switched up their defensive game plan this week by bringing more pressure. Heading into the game, the Arizona Cardinals’ defense ranked 22nd in the NFL with a 24.0% blitz rate. According to Next Gen Stats, the Cardinals blitzed Trevor Lawrence on 34.3% of his dropbacks in Week 12.
As a wise man once said, “You live by the blitz, you will die by the blitz.” Trevor Lawrence threw three touchdown passes against Arizona. All three of them came against the blitz, which is a new career high for Lawrence. The former 2021 first overall pick made some tremendous plays while under duress, which was the difference in today’s game.
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