Winning on third down the key for Arizona Cardinals defense

After the Cardinals’ astonishing win over the Raiders Sunday, the first line of my story was succinct: Sometimes it’s simply impossible to explain the unexplainable.

That was mostly in reference to what quarterback Kyler Murray and the offense were able to do in the fourth quarter, overcoming a 23-7 lead by scoring two touchdowns with the necessary still-can’t-believe-it 2-point conversions.

However, it also had to do with a defense that had allowed 258 yards and 20 points by halftime, but made a drastic turnaround in the second half and overtime, holding the Raiders to 66 yards on 23 plays and one field goal.

Well, it turns out defensive coordinator Vance Joseph was able to explain the unexplainable in two words when he was asked about it Thursday.

“Third downs.” That was it, according to Joseph. “It was strictly third down.”

He then went over, chapter and verse, the four third-down conversions the Raiders had on their game-opening drive, noting that one was third-and-11 and another third-and-12. On the Raiders’ second touchdown drive, there was success on third-and-10.

Added Joseph, “The answer is always third down and red zone. Teams can move the ball on you, but if you can play good red-zone defense, three is better than seven and winning third down. But, especially third-and-12, that can’t happen.”

The Raiders were 5-for-6 on third down in the first half, but only 1-for-5 in the second half.

Joseph insisted, “Last week, I thought the play in the first half was fine. We won first down, we won second down, but on third down we lost. That was troubling. But we fixed it at halftime and player better.”

There was a third-and-9 stop for a three-and-out on the Raiders’ first possession of the third quarter, one on third-and-goal from the 7-yard line when the ensuing field goal kept it a two-score game and then third-and-10 success after the Cardinals had cut the lead to 23-15.

As Joseph noted about third down with the Rams coming to town Sunday, “That’s going to be the game against good people. You don’t want to play 20 more snaps. You’re playing Matthew Stafford, you’re playing Cooper Kupp. If you win third downs, it cuts your snaps down. That’s our responsibility to play our best ball on third downs and in the red zone after winning first down. Staring fast and playing clean ball is going to be important.”

Joseph and all coaches preach about the details and trying to win every play.

Linebacker Zaven Collins talked about it this week when he said, “It’s know what you know. If you make a mistake one time, try not to mess up on that again. If you have issues and get to Friday or Saturday, it can be hard for coaches to trust you. So it’s know what you know every day.

“One guy might mess up one play. Ten guys might do it right. There were two plays (Sunday) where everyone else did it right and I did it wrong by a yard. It’s details every play. You can’t go through and not do the details because everyone in this league is talented. Everyone can move fast, everyone can run, everyone is big and strong, everyone can hit hard, everyone can catch the ball. It comes down to the details.”

“A yard,” Collins said. Yes, one measly yard can make the difference.

Told what Collins said, Joseph responded, “That’s every player. Every player, it’s details. And when you’re playing good people, you can’t lack the details because they’re going to find it. That guy on third-and-12 (Mack Hollins), he found that soft spot. And (Derek Carr) went to his so-called worst receiver because Davante (Adams) was rolled, he was doubled, (and Hollins) came from one all the way to five. So, these guys are really good at their jobs, so if you’re not detailed in your job, it’s tough to beat ‘em.”

And it all is worked on in practice. Joseph said, “If you don’t nail the things in practice, it’s tough to beat ‘em. The first half, the plays that we lost, we practiced those plays. Multiple times and we didn’t win ‘em. If that happens in NFL games, you’re gonna lose. Against the Chiefs, the plays they beat us on, we practiced those plays. If those plays you don’t stop, you have no chance of winning. Because then there are the things they do new you have to adjust to.”

Explaining the reversal Sunday, safety Budda Baker said, “Going into the second half, we told ourselves we’re going to take it one play at a time. We’re going to do the things correctly. Do the calls correctly each and every play.”

Asked about the challenge of playing a fast and physical sport, but still being on point on every play, Baker said, “You have to be mindful of those details. When you’re tired, you guys know, when you’re on your treadmill and you’re 10 minutes in and you get a phone call, you’re tired. You might forget what you’re gonna say, stuff like that. When you’re fatigued and when your body’s tired, things might not be going the right way with your body, you gotta always understand that the mental is the biggest thing that’s important in this game because without that mental, you’re not going to be able to know what to do.

“When guys are tired, when things are flying around, and when a big play happens, there’s no going back to that play and talking about it. There’s next-play mentality: What’s the call, what’s your job from there because there’s multiple tools within that call that guys have to know and make as this offense is jetting and running around. So that mental aspect is definitely what we have to do as players. That’s why we preach: Everybody do your job, one play at time and things will be good.”

Looking ahead to Sunday, Baker said simply, “They know us, we know them, so it’s a matter of who’s going to do their job each and every play.”

Inside slants

*After a rough opening of the season, the Cardinals are getting healthier with only four players listed Thursday with injuries.

Running back James Conner (ankle) was upgraded to limited, while defensive end J.J. Watt (calf) remained limited, and wide receiver Rondale Moore (hamstring) and linebacker Ezekiel Turner (ankle) were out again. Wide receiver Andy Isabella (back) and cornerback Trayvon Mullen Jr. (toe) had full practice for the second consecutive day.

Rookie tight end Trey McBride did not practice because of undisclosed personal reasons.

Asked if he’s pleased with how Mullen is grasping the defense, Joseph said, “I am. He’s getting better and better. He’s getting healthier, getting in shape. He’s a guy with talent and he works at it. We’ll see what happens on Sunday.”

For the Rams, cornerback David Long Jr. (groin) was downgraded to not practicing and defensive back Jordan Fuller (hamstring) was added to the injury report as limited. Center Brian Allen, cornerback Cobie Durant (hamstring) and wide receiver Van Jefferson (knee) remained out.

*Isaiah Simmons continues to be discussed for good reason. The eighth overall pick in the 2020 draft, he played only 15 snaps against the Raiders.

Last week, we posed the question of whether too much was being asked of Simmons with the different roles he plays in addition to relaying the defensive calls. He didn’t do the latter Sunday.

Joseph acknowledged, “That calmed him down a little bit. Calling defenses is tough. You have to call it, explain it, and now do your job. I don’t think it hurt him not having to do it because he can play calm and do his job.

Figuring out how to deploy Simmons is on Joseph and the other defensive coaches.

“Isaiah’s a hybrid,” Joseph said. “He plays safety, nickel, he plays dime for us. It’s always going to be week to week with Isaiah where he plays. That’s why he was drafted for that position. That’s his body type. That’s the challenge for us each week where we can put him so he can make plays to help us win.”

Against Las Vegas, Joseph said, “He played his butt off. (Tight end Darren) Waller is a big-time target and he held him down on third downs for us. He had a great week of practice after the Chiefs game. The two plays he made at the end of the game, no one can make them on our team but him.

“He came out of the A gap to make a tackle on (wide receiver Hunter) Renfrow on a 35-yard sprint and the second time on the same play he knocked the ball out. So I told him, it’s not about how many plays you play, it’s about how you play when you play. You could play only 40 snaps and play 30 dominant snaps and that helps us win.”

Don’t hesitate to comment or ask questions on Twitter @hbalzer721 or email me: howard@gophnx.com