5 changes that might fix the Cardinals offense

In the emotional moments after the Washington Commanders’ 42-14 dismantling of the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at State Farm Stadium, coach Jonathan Gannon spoke of the need for adjustments and adaptation.

After reviewing the game film, his stance softened slightly on Monday. When asked about his struggling offense, he insisted that the Cardinals were close to unleashing what was billed as the strength of this team.

“If I didn’t think we were close I would change it all,” he said. “But I don’t think that’s the response by me — the right thing to do. 

“It’s coaching the details, making sure they know what they’re doing and then it’s us going out and doing what we’re coached to do consistently. You have a game like that and you think you’ve got to blow it all up and tear it all down and ‘We’re so far away.’ We’re really not. We’re close but we’re not there yet.”

As proof, offensive coordinator Drew Petzing noted that the team ran for 181 yards and Kyler Murray completed 72.7 percent of his passes in Sunday’s loss.

“I think we’ve got to look at the areas that prevented us from putting points on the board,” Petzing said Tuesday. “Can we be a little bit better on money downs? A little bit more explosive in the passing game? I think there’s a lot of good on that tape, but I think if we can clean up a couple of those areas, we can get more points on the board.”

Not everybody is convinced that the fixes are so simple. Many of James Conner’s rushing yards came against a defense that was more concerned with giving up chunk plays while protecting a lead, thereby playing soft against the run. There were also head-scratching calls in short-yardage situations where Petzing dialed up pass plays instead of relying on his powerful offensive line and his big back.

That said, the Cardinals still rank 13th in points scored per game (24), 12th in yards per game (333), fifth in rushing yards (153.3) and fourth in red-zone efficiency (72.73 percent). Not all is lost on offense if they can, in fact, shore up some other areas. 

Here’s five that might help fix an offense that was humming just two weeks ago.

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Third down efficiency

Through two weeks, the Cardinals were 14 of 24 on third-down conversions (58.3 percent). The past two weeks, they were 5 of 20 (25 percent). That’s a big drop-off and a key reason why the Lions and Commanders enjoyed a combined 70:11 to 49:49 advantage in time of possession.

“Those are critical situations,” Petzing said. “You’re going to have a lot of one-on-ones. You’ve got to be great from a play-calling and a design standpoint.”

Gannon also noted the importance of execution and manageable third downs.

“Before third down I always look at first and second down,” he said. “We’ve got to do a better job on first and second down and then third down we’ve got to execute and convert that so we can stay on the field and get drives moving. Any offense, Pop Warner to the NFL, has a better chance to convert when it’s third and manageable.”

Against the Commanders, the Cardinals had five third downs of nine yards or longer.

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Get playmakers the ball

It didn’t help that Trey McBride, one of the game’s best pass-catching tight ends, was out of the game in concussion protocol, but Marvin Harrison Jr. had just six targets (five catches for 45 yards and a TD) in what Gannon called his best game of the season. Murray even admitted that Harrison got left out of the offense after catching the game’s first ball.

“We have to get our best players the ball,” he said.

The Cardinals coaching staff will recite in unison the need to throw the ball where it’s supposed to go within the offense, but that argument only holds so much water. You have to allow your playmakers the chance to make plays, even if it means designing plays where they are all but certain to get the ball.  

“That’s a balance you have to strike, and it’s not always easy, because they also know who your best players are in critical moments, and they want their best players there, or their best coverage there,” Petzing said. “So it’s a fine line between making sure that you’re designing things and giving him the opportunity or maybe throwing him the ball or getting him open on the route. 

“But it’s also saying, ‘Alright, are they giving us that opportunity? Do we have that open or are we forcing the ball into a look where it’s not going to be clean, where he’s not [going to have a] high chance of success?'”

It didn’t help that the Cardinals averaged less than nine yards per pass play. The passing game looked a lot like it did in Buffalo where nothing was going downfield. The Cardinals have to find a way to produce more explosive plays. That starts with a concerted effort to get the ball in their playmakers’ hands.

Get Jonah Williams back

Kelvin Beachum is a veteran; a key backup who can fill in at the drop of a hat and give the Cardinals serviceable performances. Beachum is not, however, a starter at this stage of his career.

It’s too small a sample to say that the Cardinals’ offensive line was humming before Williams sustained a knee injury on the final play of the first quarter of the season opener in Buffalo — an injury that landed him on injured reserve — but the unit looked complete, and it looked like it was in a rhythm.

That has not been the case of late. The Cardinals’ offensive line did not grade out well against the Commanders’ subpar defense, and it was easy to see why when you looked at the litany of protection breakdowns that occurred; some of them from Beachum.

The soonest Williams is eligible to return to the lineup would be Week 6 in Green Bay. It’s unclear if that is a real possibility or if he will need longer. Williams has been seen walking around the Cardinals’ practice facility wearing a knee brace, but Gannon has refused on multiple occasions to speculate on William’s timeline for return. His return would obviously be a big boost for a 1-3 team whose season is already hanging by a thread.

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Let Kyler run?

This one isn’t as simple as it looks. The Cardinals are 0-14-1 when Kyler Murray has four rushing attempts or less in a game. They are 13-2 when he has at least nine rushing attempts.

That doesn’t mean that if the Cardinals design nine plays for Murray to run each game, they will go undefeated. It’s more a product of what is happening in the game.

“You can scheme it up where he’s running the ball,” Petzing said. “Other times, it’s just extending plays. Some of those runs throughout his career have been off scheduled passes that he breaks the line of scrimmage. It’s not like those are called runs all the time. He’s very dynamic in that area. 

“Sometimes teams do some good things to take that away. Sometimes we have issues in other areas that lead to him not being able to take advantage of that.”

One thing that was abundantly clear against the Rams: When Murray is moving, he can be lethal with his arms or legs.

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Tweak the play-calling

We should be careful with this one, too. Even the best play callers can look dumb if a lineman misses an assignment, or a receiver runs the wrong route, or the QB makes a bad read, or a running back hits the wrong gap — all mistakes that won’t necessarily be obvious to the naked eye.

That said, there have been head-scratching play calls this season in each of the losses.

There was the jump ball to 5 feet 7 Greg Dortch on the defining play of the Bills game.

There was the third-and-1 incompletion to Michael Wilson against the Commanders, and the fourth-and-1 play call on which Murray was sacked.

Ron Wolfley on the 98.7 Arizona Sports Broadcast couldn’t have said it any better.

“Petzing is scheming Kyler Murray into these sacks. Wow.”

Drew Petzing is calling a horrible game. #BirdGang

— Mervin (@MervinBustmante) September 29, 2024

There was the aforementioned lack of a downfield passing game against Buffalo, and again on Sunday.

And on too many occasions, the offense has looked predictable. Everyone knows the Cardinals want to establish Conner early in games because that’s what they do every game. We’re not seeing a lot of creativity from Petzing like we did last season.

We’re not saying the Cardinals need to trot out weekly hook-and-ladder plays like the Lions used for a gorgeous TD at State Farm Stadium recently, but an occasional misdirection or creative play to keep the defense guessing wouldn’t hurt. Especially when what you are doing isn’t working. The Cardinals offense has produced 13 and 14 points the past two weeks in home games.

Again, this is armchair analysis from a less knowledgeable vantage point than the coaches’ room. We are not privy to all the nuances that go into decision making or the mistakes that result in blown plays. It’s not as simple as saying Petzing is young and inexperienced. It’s not as simple as saying Petzing freezes in key moments of the game.

Look around the league and you’ll find most OCs under fire from the fan base and media when their teams are losing. Every OC will make mistakes because they are human, but every OC is also dependent on the performance of the players within his offense, and the players on the other side of the ball.

That said, Petzing seemed to acknowledge the need for tweaks when he noted the team’s inability to put up points despite a host of favorable offensive statistics. Murray is among the NFL’s leaders in QB efficiency and he has only thrown one interception. Conner is among the top dozen rushers this season. Harrison is doing just what a star, rookie receiver should be doing. But the Cardinals aren’t staying on the field and the Cardinals aren’t scoring points over the past two weeks.

Which takes us back to two glaring deficiencies that Petzing outlined in his media availability on Tuesday. The Cardinals need to stretch the field and create more explosive plays. And the Cardinals need to figure out how to convert more third downs if they are to sustain drives and put more points on the board. Whether that requires new ideas or coaxing better execution out of his players, it’s his job to figure it out, and it’s his job to fix it.

Top photo via Getty Images

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