Arizona Cardinals bold predictions for Week 4 vs. Commanders
09/27/2024 04:59 PM
Through the first three weeks of the 2024 season, the Arizona Cardinals have been one of the more confusing teams in the NFL.
In Week 1, they looked bad, with fans questioning if Jonathan Gannon would make it through the year with such an ineffective defense. In Week 2, they looked unbeatable, with the Los Angeles Rams effectively taking the L before the end of the first quarter, as they simply couldn’t overcome a throwback Heisman performance by Kyler Murray. And in Week 3? Well, it sort of fell somewhere in the middle, with the Lions ultimately securing the win, but the final outcome being much closer overall.
So, who are the Cardinals? Are they a bad team punching above their weight, thanks to their premier quarterbacks? Or are they a good team that has some inherent structural flaws that can, unfortunately, limit their ceiling? Well, in Week 4, fans might just find out, as they’ll be facing off against a similarly interesting Washington Commanders team that is early in a rebuild but has a great quarterback and enough talent to make some waves, even if they might just be too flawed to do so consistently. If the Cardinals can handle the Commanders, who knows, maybe fans will understand what kind of team they are moving forward.
*Watch NFL games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)*
1. The Commanders can’t slow down Kyler Murray
Through the first three weeks of the 2024 NFL season, only one team in the NFL, the Baltimore Ravens, has allowed more passing yards than the Commanders.
But why? How can a team with a 2-1 record and a point differential of -9 be so gosh-darn bad against the pass? Is it that new head coach Dan Quinn’s scheme hasn’t quite come together? Or maybe because they simply don’t have a great defensive backfield, with none of Benjamin St-Juste, Mike Sainristil, or Noah Igbinoghene really striking fear in the hearts of opposing wide receivers, let alone offensive coordinators.
Either way, through three games, the Commanders have allowed 767 yards and an NFL-leading nine passing touchdowns. Only one quarterback they’ve played, Daniel Jones, has thrown for under 200 yards, and Joe Burrow was able to put up 312 in a losing effort in Week 3.
While Murray hasn’t yet passed for over 300 yards so far this season, topping out at 258 in a Week 2 win over the Los Angeles Rams, Murray has almost 800 all-purpose yards through the first three weeks of the season – 796 to be exact – and his play has been the deciding factor in whether or not Gannon’s team has secured the win week in and week out. When he’s picking up big yards as a passer, running around behind the line of scrimmage while making players like Jared Verse look silly, the Cardinals have looked like one of the more interesting teams in the NFL while even a mediocre game by Murry’s standards has led to unfortunate outcomes. Why? Because the Cardinals don’t have a lot of talent on defense, are a work-in-progress on offense, and are still relatively early in the Gannon era.
Fortunately, with one of the worst passing defenses in the NFL on the docket in Week 4, with their rushing defense not that much better, ranking 17th overall with 365 allowed yards and two rushing touchdowns, the Cardinals have a chance to even up their record at .500 against a Commanders team that can seemingly only win shootouts due to their lack of consistent defensive stoppers.
2. Jayden Daniels turns in another elite performance
In Week 3, Jayden Daniels turned in one of the greatest single games in NFL history.
How good? We’re talking 21 completed passes on 23 attempts for 254 yards and two touchdowns while hitting tight windows, playing poised in the pocket, and contributing in the rushing game, recording 39 yards on 12 attempts to go with his third touchdown of the game. Daniels looked savvy, smart, and downright special and ultimately outgunned legit MVP candidate Joe Burrow, even if the elder LSU product had a few more yards in a losing effort.
Heading into Week 4, Daniels’ stock is at an all-time high, but will he be able to keep up his success against Gannon’s defense?
Yes.
Now granted, it’s hard to imagine a world where Daniels is consistently completing 90-plus percent of his passes on the regular moving forward, as no quarterback in NFL history has kept up that level of accuracy over a robust career, but through three weeks, he has never completed less than 70 percent of his passes and has a completion percentage of 80.26 overall.
Facing off against a Cardinals team that has allowed opposing teams to complete 75 percent of their passes for 600 yards and four passing touchdowns, the Cardinals have a very middle-of-the-road passing defense but haven’t allowed more than 200 passing yards to quarterbacks since Week 1, when they lost to the Buffalo Bills.
If the Cardinals can keep Daniels under 200 passing yards in Week 4, it will spell good things for Arizona’s chances to secure a win and even up their record at 2-2, but don’t be surprised if his completion percentage is flirting with 80 percent when everything is said and done, as ex-Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury has seemingly crafted an ideal scheme to optimize his LSU QB’s efficiency in what was expected to be a growing pains year.
3. The Cardinals squeak out a win over the Commanders
So, if the Cardinals are able to put up 300-plus yards in Week 4 while preventing Daniels from going over 200, it’s safe to assume Arizona will leave September with a .500 record, right? Yes, if that happens, and Murray plays like a sub-6-foot Michael Vick, it will be hard for Gannon’s team not to secure that win, but what are the chances that actually happen?
Considering the Commanders have one of the worst passing defenses in the NFL, the Cardinals should be able to throw the ball relatively easily, and if someone like Marvin Harrison Jr. has another massive game, Arizona should be the beneficiary of Washington’s misfortunes on the way to an evened up record.
The post Arizona Cardinals bold predictions for Week 4 vs. Commanders appeared first on ClutchPoints.
