In normal years, blowing a 21-point second-half lead would be the stuff of nightmares.
This year? Eh.
Not an ideal turn of events for the Cardinals on Sunday, but not the end of the world.
And from a big-picture standpoint, Arizona fans should come away from Week 2 feeling even more optimistic.
The Cardinals have been ultra-competitive in both games this season but are still 0-2, increasing their chance to land the No. 1 overall pick in 2024.
After the defense shined against the Commanders, it was the offense that turned heads in the 31-28 loss to the Giants.
Quarterback Joshua Dobbs finished the contest 21-of-31 for 228 yards with a touchdown, while adding three carries for 41 yards and another score.
His Total QBR of 75.8 was a top-10 mark in the NFL this week, pending Monday Night Football, outpacing Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow and Matthew Stafford, among others.
As expected, Joshua Dobbs finished with a better Total QBR than Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow in Week 2.
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) September 18, 2023
Running back James Conner had 23 carries for 106 yards and a touchdown, averaging a healthy 4.6 yards per carry.
Most importantly, the scheme implemented by offensive coordinator Drew Petzing this offseason looks like a winner — especially once it has Kyler Murray as the engine.
In Kliff Kingsbury’s first season in the desert, the Cardinals ran the ball at a dominant level and finished with the No. 14 offense in the NFL after being historically awful the season prior.
Murray won Rookie of the Year and his efficiency improved the next two seasons, but the running game never again hit that elite level despite the presence of one of the NFL’s most fleet-footed quarterbacks.
Consequently, the offense never became a true juggernaut.
Well, the rushing attack is back with Petzing in town.
Petzing’s scheme > Kliff’s scheme
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) September 17, 2023
The offensive line blocked beautifully for much of Sunday, paving gigantic holes for Conner. The ground success slowed the pass-rush and also set up play-action throws, giving Arizona the explosive plays that are essential in the NFL.
Dobbs played a fine game against the Giants, but there was still a little meat left on the bone, which allows the mind to drift toward Kyler.
Under Kingsbury, we never saw an abundance of play-action deep shots or designed QB runs. There was also a heavy emphasis on getting the ball out quickly to the playmakers on the perimeter — a seemingly counterintuitive strategy considering the offense’s ultimate playmaker was its quarterback.
The Air Raid scheme under Kingsbury did not cater to Murray’s skillset, especially toward the end of their time together in Arizona, which is why it’s exciting to consider the possibilities under Petzing.
At his best, Murray is a dynamic rushing threat and one of the most accurate deep ball passers in the NFL. This offense should accentuate those strengths.
Instead of a first-and-10 bubble screen, it will be handoff, handoff, and then bam, play-action deep shot. A handoff, then bam, pull on a zone-read against a defense zeroed in on Conner.
The Ravens and Eagles are two examples of extremely successful teams that have built an offense around the strengths of their dual-threat quarterbacks.
For whatever reason, Kingsbury and GM Steve Keim did not tailor the Arizona offense to Murray like Baltimore and Philly have done with Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts.
Every time I watch the Eagles it’s a reminder the Cardinals built the roster the wrong way around Kyler.
Spent their resources on wide receivers and inside linebackers instead of building a dominant offensive line/run game.
— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) September 15, 2023
Very early in their tenure together, Murray started to get excited about the possibilities in Petzing’s offense, and Week 2 made its potential clear.
The Cardinals are at such a talent disadvantage that the offense might look downright putrid the next two weeks against the Cowboys and 49ers. After all, personnel is always the most important factor.
But make no mistake: this is a more optimal system for Murray.
No more attacking horizontally. It’s ground-and-pound with play-action shots, just like it always should have been.
