Cardinals' late offensive launch led to another loss at Levi’s Stadium
· Yahoo Sports
Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur is working through the kinks to get his hands around the offensive scheme in his first season. Yet, another slow offensive start versus a divisional foe in the San Francisco 49ers caused a scoring deficit that ultimately became insurmountable in the 36-30 loss.
Visit mchezo.life for more information.
Six total points in the first half was not nearly enough to keep the 49ers at bay on their home field at Levi’s Stadium. The Cardinals defense has struggled somewhat and it’s not primarily because they are lacking in talent, but that they’re spending long durations of time on the field and because their offensive colleagues have been unable to cannot sustain drives. The Cardinals defense also has not played many game minutes with a scoring league, leaving them susceptible to the opponents will in both run game and pass.
Injuries-riddled last year on defense and with the pending surgery of second-year defensive back Will Johnson, it seems that the Cardinals' trajectory will be duplicated in 2026. Thus, LaFleur badly needs his offense to pick up the pace to compensate. As of now, the Cardinals rank No. 24 in yards per game and sit at No. 19 in points per game.
The Cardinals are now 1-3, but thankfully the Seattle Seahawks slipped up against the Washington Commanders, giving them some slight grace in the divisional race. However, the 49ers have now advanced to 3-0, and it’ll be hard for any of the NFC West division teams to catch them if they continue at this pace. Speaking of pace, LaFleur needs to better prepare offensively for pending opponents so that his battered defensive unit doesn't participate in every contest playing from a deficit.
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple Podcasts.
.oembed-frame {width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;border:0;}
.oembed-frame {width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;border:0;}
This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Cardinals' late offensive launch led to another loss at Levi’s Stadium