Arizona Cardinals: How Sam Bradford Has Played at University of Phoenix Stadium
Looking into how Sam Bradford performed at University of Phoenix Stadium before becoming the Arizona Cardinals’ starting quarterback.
Having been drafted by the St. Louis Rams, Sam Bradford is quite familiar with the Arizona Cardinals’ home stadium. For supporters of the franchise, that’s definitely something to put in the positive column.
Since joining the Cardinals, Bradford has played well. Always a guy with his fair-share of naysayers, it’s been a relief to see. In his only action at University of Phoenix Stadium as a member of the home team, he completed his only pass attempt.
Having said that, I thought it would be interesting to see how he played at his new home field in years past.
Bradford, now with his fourth NFL team, only played at University of Phoenix Stadium with the Rams. Furthermore, all three times he’s come as a visitor were between 2010-2012 — his first three years as an NFL quarterback.
Sam Bradford at University of Phoenix Stadium
2010, Week 12, St. Louis 19, Arizona 6
Game Stats: 18-29, 187 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
2011, Week 8, Arizona 19, St. Louis 13
Game Stats: 23-36, 255 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
2012, Week 11, St. Louis 31, Arizona 17
Game Stats: 8-17, 205 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Overall, his numbers aren’t too impressive but he did go 2-1 in the win column. In three games, Bradford completed 49 passes on 82 attempts with two touchdowns and three interceptions. His combined quarterback rating for his three games in Glendale comes out to a pedestrian 77.6.
The one thing that sticks out to me is that Bradford’s yards per attempt got better each time he came and played in Glendale. From 6.44 in 2010 to 7.08 in 2011 to 12.05 in 2012, the numbers pretty much mirror his career as a whole. Bradford, as he got more experience, got much better at the position.
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For example, his quarterback rating was 79.3 from 2010-2014. From 2015 until last season, though, that number jumped all the way up to 94.2.
Moving forward, I’m confident that he’ll be a surprise this year for Arizona. He’s a veteran who will make those young receivers better and lean on Larry Fitzgerald in high-leverage situations.