Arizona Cardinals Flight Plan Against The Kansas City Chiefs

Offense:

First and foremost, RUN the FOOTBALL! Yes, the Arizona Cardinals are 31st in rushing the football, and only average 3.1 yards per carry. Yes Ellington will not play, but the Chiefs are 30th against the run and allow 4.9 yards per carry. If you’re AZ, you do not want to run into the Kansas City Chiefs’ strength: their pass defense.

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You want to run the football. With Jonathan Cooper starting at right guard in place of the injured Paul Fanaika, along with hard runner Stepfan Taylor, look for the Cardinals to try to win the line of scrimmage early on in the game. It would make it much easier for quarterback Drew Stanton, who has been struggling the past couple of games. Cooper is a very mobile, athletically gifted 1st round pick who has a chance to show how valuable he can be for the running game.

Defense:

Although one of the most athletic defensive backfields in the NFL, the Arizona Cardinals have given up a lot of big passing plays. But against this Chiefs West Coast Offense, that is not an issue. The Chiefs’ lack of receiving threats is why they have zero passing TD’s; NADA! But they do have a solid QB who doesn’t turn over the football, Alex Smith. He goes through his reads and checks it down if nothing is open downfield. If you’re AZ, knowing that there’s no big threat down field, you will definitely stack the box to contain running back Jamaal Charles. In those short to medium passing plays to play makers such as Charles, running back Knile Davis and tight end Travis Kelce, AZ has to make open field tackles. If they can’t do that then KC will get a lot of yards after the catch.

Special Teams:

Rookie kicker Chandler Catanzaro is nearly perfect for the Cardinals: 19/21, but is only 1/2 in field goal tries greater than 50 yards. AZ would definitely want to reach the end zone as possibly as it can. Cairo Santos, another rookie kicker, is 16/18, with one successful field goal try from 50+ yards out. Ted Ginn Jr and DeAnthony Thomas are two explosive punt return men for Arizona & Kansas City. Knile Davis is a good running back who can be a dangerous kick return man.

My Take:

Both teams are struggling right, each with 2-game losing streaks. Both have  one of the best defenses in the league, and both offenses are similar in that they won’t consistently light the scoreboard, but both have solid play makers who have benefited from Bruce Arians & Andy Reid, two of the better offensive play-callers in the league. I think the Cardinals will go 7-0 at home with a game-winning field goal from The Cat Man.

Arizona Cardinals 20 Kansas City Chiefs 17