The offensive line has something to do with it, but it’s also a glaring personnel issue at running back thanks to a total of seven games played by James Conner (three) and Trey Benson (four).
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Last season, the Cardinals had about 658 pass plays called that included 85 runs by Kyler Murray and Clayton Tune and 30 sacks. It’s true that some of the quarterback’s runs were designed, but not enough to change the ratio that much. There were 378 running plays.
This year, the imbalance is stark. With one game remaining, there have been 734 passing plays with Murray and Jacoby Brissett being sacked 53 times and just 287 rushing plays.
The reality of NFL preparation is that game planning suffers when you know that defenses do not respect the run, which includes virtually no big-play threat. Also, say what you want about Murray, but defenses play the Cardinals differently when they don’t have to take into account his ability to escape and run.
Running back Michael Carter, who was not on the initial 53-man roster, currently leads the team with 315 rushing yards. He needs 42 to avoid finishing with the fewest yards for a team leader in the Cardinals’ 38-season history in Arizona.
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It’s notable that of the 12 teams in the playoffs and the four competing for the final two spots, eight have rushers for more than 1,000 yards and the other eight have two who have combined for more than 1,000. The Cardinals’ top two running backs (Carter and Emari Demercado) have a combined total of 598. Again, that’s the reality.
The following are the running backs for those teams trying to win division titles in Week 18 in bold:
NFC
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Carolina: Rico Dowdle 1,066; Chuba Hubbard 501
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Chicago: D’Andre Swift 1,094; Kyle Monangai 769
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Green Bay: Josh Jacobs 929; Manuel Wilson 452
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Los Angeles Rams: Kyren Williams 1,192; Blake Corum 687
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Philadelphia: Saquon Barkley 1,140
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San Francisco: Christian McCaffrey 1,179; Brian Robinson Jr.391
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Seattle: Kenneth Walker III 930; Zach Charbonnet 636
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Tampa Bay: Rachaad White 549, Bucky Irving 503
FCA
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Baltimore: Henry Derrick 1469
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Buffalo: James Cook: 1,606
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Denver: JK Dobbins (IR) 772; RJ Harvey 512
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Houston: Woody scores 655; Nick Chubb 506
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Jacksonville: Travis Etienne Jr. 1,075; Bhayshul Tuten 284
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Los Angeles Chargers: Kimani Vidal 631; Omarion Hampton 545
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New England: TreVeon Henderson 858; Rhamondre Stevenson 472
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Pittsburgh: Jaylen Warren 892; Kenneth Gainwell 527
It is also significant that race problems affect performance on the first attempt. The Cardinals currently rank 30th in the NFL with an average of 4.65 yards per first down play. Last season they placed seventh with a significant difference of 5.94 per play. Hmm. Taking the risk of being called a jerk, a sellout or lacking integrity, as some have done when they get embarrassed after I give them real facts, wasn’t that same guy calling the plays last season when the Cardinals ranked 11th in yards, 7th in rushing and 18th in passing?
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Conner, for those apparently experiencing collective amnesia, rushed for 1,094 yards and added 414 receiving yards.
The reality of the injury, not the excuse
When cornerback Kei’Trel Clark was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday, it marked the 33rd trip to a reserve list this year by Cardinals players. That includes four who have been in reserve on two different occasions. That includes guard Will Hernandez, who was on the active 90-man roster when he signed and was placed on PUP. There are currently 24 in reserve with 20 since the cut at 53. At least one player has been placed in reserve after every game this season except after the Green Bay game before the bye week.
The 49ers are hailed by many as a team ravaged by injuries and lost key players earlier this season. However, they have only had three players placed on IR since November 8th. Currently, the 49ers have 12 in reserve with seven since the cut at 53. Comparing that to the Cardinals is a stretch. Many have noted the loss of first-round defensive end Mykel Williams, who went on injured reserve after playing in nine games. Dare I say he has 1.0 sacks this season, which is half the 2.0 that Cardinals defensive lineman Walter Nolen III had in the four games he played before being placed on reserve for the second time.
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It’s also significant that while the 49ers are 7-1 in their last eight games, only one win was over a winning team (the Bears), the loss was by 16 points at home to the Rams, and the combined record of the seven teams they beat is 40-72 (.357).
Meanwhile, during the Cardinals’ eight-game losing streak, injuries continued to pile up with 13 players added to injured reserve. And while the losses in that stretch have been tough to swallow, the combined record of the eight teams is 79-49 (.617), which isn’t surprising considering the Cardinals and Tennessee Titans are neck and neck for having the first and second toughest schedules in the NFL.
All five blowout losses came against playoff teams except the Cincinnati Bengals, who have had quarterback Joe Burrow back for five games and have scored 32, 34, 37 and 45 points in four of the games, winning three by 18, 23 and 24. The other four were against teams with a combined record of 47-17 (.734).
Before that eight-game stretch, which began with the loss of linebacker Mike Mack Wilson Sr. for the season (defensive lineman Calais Cambell told the FOX broadcast team last week that it was a big loss for the defense), the Cardinals had lost five one-score games by a total of 13 points and then added three more by a total of 13, including a three-point loss in overtime.
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The rowdy crowd that dismisses the coaches has commented that close losses are due to training. As if a coach caused dropped passes, missed field goal attempts, penalties, or any of the countless reasons there are for players to simply not make plays.
Sure, there are situations where the coach’s decisions can be questioned, but it is largely in the hands of the players on the field. That closed-minded group blames everything on coaching and refuses to accept that other variables have an impact.
I guess they must think Andy Reid suddenly became a bad coach this season. After all, the Kansas City Chiefs won 15 regular-season games last season and went 11-0 in one-score games, advancing to the Super Bowl where, yes, offensive line injuries sabotaged their hopes of defeating the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl.
This season, with more OLine problems, the Chiefs are 6-10, have lost six of their last seven games and after a December 14 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers 16-13, NBC analyst and former Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said: “The NFL is about the fourth quarter. The NFL is about winning one-score games. In the last decade, no one has done it better than the Kansas City Chiefs. This year, they have a record of 1-7 in those games (now 1-8). Do you want to know the reason they don’t play in the playoffs? They haven’t been great in the big moments. It happened again today.”
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The Detroit Lions are another example. Last season, like the Chiefs, they won 15 regular-season games and were 7-2 in one-score games. This season, they are 8-8 and 2-5 in single-score games.
These are two teams that entered the season with legitimate championship aspirations and won 16 fewer games than they did in the 2024 season.
The overwhelming reality is that it is incredibly difficult to win a game in the NFL. And when there are about 120 scrimmage plays and 30 special teams plays per game with 22 players on the field each play, all it takes is one player to ruin any play and affect the game.
And when many of them are a large number of substitutes in the group of 80 who have played for the Cardinals this season, sometimes there is not much control a coach can have.
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I remember some words of wisdom said at the end of the 2022 season by defensive lineman JJ Watt, who had announced his retirement. Watt spoke to the media before the end of the regular season, a few days after a difficult 20-19 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
He punished himself after the game for being in the wrong space on a crucial 22-yard run by Cordarrelle Patterson on the Falcons’ game-winning drive and then got too aggressive trying to make up for it and was penalized for being in the neutral zone.
Then I wrote: “Truth be told, there have been a lot of plays like that this season that led to losses in close games. In a league that plays 17 games and has a large percentage decided by a score, there often isn’t much difference between teams that have won four games and those that have won eight.”
So I asked Watt if outsiders realize that those little details (which head coach Jonathan Gannon talks a lot about) are what separate the winners from the losers. In that 4-13 season in which Kliff Kingsbury was fired, the Cardinals went 2-6 in one-score games.
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Watt said: “I don’t think so, and it’s not their fault, but I don’t think anyone who – no offense, except you – I don’t think anyone who hasn’t been in that locker room and in that game and on that field and been in those situations, understands what it really takes and what happens game by game, game by game and how many things have to add up for the perfect play to happen and how one small step or one small hand placement can change the landscape of an entire game and an entire season and the mental stress and the anguish that this entails.”
Surely the Cardinals have relived that just three seasons later.
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: The Arizona Cardinals, their failed running game and their injuries.