A look at what happened to the Cardinals on defense and on special teams in their loss to the Texans.
Two months ago, there was already a feeling of déjà vu, Groundhog Day and same ol’, same ol’ each week. With three games remaining in this forgettable season, very little has changed, especially on defense.
Explosive plays, injuries piling up and falling behind early. It, of course, happened again Sunday in a 40-20 loss to the Houston Texans in a game in which the Arizona Cardinals were playing without safeties Jalen Thompson and Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, and cornerback Max Melton.
Then, Mike linebacker Cody Simon, who had replaced Mack Wilson Sr., went down early with a knee injury. Wilson’s six missed games coincides with the current six-game losing streak.
Let’s have a look at what we saw defensively and on special teams from the Cardinals in the 40-20 loss.
Where do we begin?
At the beginning.
The defense stopped running back Woody Marks for a two-yard gain on the first play of the game, after which cornerback Garrett Williams couldn’t keep up with wide receiver Nico Collins over the middle, safety Budda Baker got there late and Collins scored on a 57-yard pass play from quarterback C.J. Stroud. Collins ran 41 yards untouched after the catch.
Practice-squad wide receiver Jalen Brooks, who has been with the team since Oct. 30, fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Texans recovered at the 22-yard line. One bright spot was the defense stopped the Texans after one first down and they had to settle for a field goal.
Still, it was 10-0 after only 3:58 had come off the clock.
Following a three-and-out (for minus-7 yards by the offense), a poor 34-yard punt set the Texans up at the Cardinals 49-yard line, and they needed eight plays including a 24-yard pass interference penalty on Williams to score another touchdown for a 17-0 lead with 6:12 to play in the first quarter.
The TD was symbolic of the season when the snap from the one-yard line after two no-gain runs on first and second down, went through Stroud’s legs. Marks was lined up behind Stroud, the ball short-hopped into his hands and he ran up the middle for six points.
More bad field position
The first touchdown “drive” began at the 41-yard line after a 39-yard kickoff return by wide receiver Jaylin Noel. Then came the fumbled kickoff return and short Matt Haack punt.
After that, late in the first half, the Texans started a possession at their own 48 after a sack of quarterback Jacoby Brissett on fourth-and-2 from the 42. That ended with a field-goal attempt blocked by defensive lineman Calais Campbell, the 10th of his career, seventh with the Cardinals, and another rare bright spot.
Late in the third quarter, after a Cardinals touchdown made it a two-score game at 30-14, Noel bolted up the middle for a 69-yard kickoff return to the 26-yard line. That resulted in a field goal.
Houston’s final touchdown came after a three-and-out that began at the Arizona 4-yard line and following a 45-yard punt downed at their own 45.
Overall, the Cardinals’ average drive-start was their own 25 and the Texans their own 45.
Who’s this Jordan guy?
Elevated from the practice squad for his first NFL game, sixth-round 2024 draft pick Jawhar Jordan stepped up when Marks was hampered by an ankle injury. Jordan was needed because Nick Chubb was out with an injury to his ribs.
He had only nine yards on five carries in the first half, but helped break the game open in the third quarter. Trailing 23-7, the Cardinals moved the ball from the 25 to the 12 on the first possession of the second half and seemed poised to make it a nine-point game.
Brissett scrambled for four yards on first down, but an Isaiah Adams holding penalty moved them back 10 yards. On second-and-20, Brissett missed wide receiver Michael Wilson, and rookie cornerback Kamari Lassiter intercepted the pass in the end zone.
Two plays later, Jordan ran right and gained 50 yards to the 16-yard line for another explosive play. The Texans had 399 yards in the game and 107 on that play and Collins’ score.
It took them five plays from the 16, but a four-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dalton Schultz made it 30-7. None of Stroud’s four completions in the drive were to wide receivers.
For the game, Jordan rushed 15 times for 101 yards (14-for-51 other than the 50-yarder) and had two receptions for 14 yards.
Head coach DeMeco Ryans said of Jordan, “(It was outstanding) for the young man to come in and for his first game to have a debut like he had. Of course, he broke a record (for) most yards by a Texan in a debut game. He ran the ball very well. Efficient. He showed the explosiveness and the speed that he has and that we’ve seen in practice, while he’s been on the practice squad for us.
“It shows, again, whenever your number is called, are you ready for that opportunity? No one knows until you get that moment. It’s about you taking advantage of that moment and not looking back and I thought Jawhar handled it very well.”
Not so special, again
It’s difficult with so many moving parts on special teams and players on the field not with the team very long. It showed with Noel’s two long kickoff returns, Brooks’ fumble and Haack’s inconsistency. He is the team’s third punter of the season after Blake Gillikin suffered a back injury after playing only five games followed by a short stint from Pat O’Donnell.
Haack averaged only 45.0 yards for his three punts with a 40.7 net. Andre Baccellia had a 27-yard return on which he suffered a neck injury and had to be carted off the field as a precaution. After being evaluated at a local hospital, he returned to Arizona with the team. Recent roster addition Corey Kiner had a 22-yard return.
Notables
Defensive lineman Walter Nolen III was back after missing two games and we can only wonder what his season would have looked like had he not missed the first seven games of the season because of a calf injury suffered a couple weeks before the start of training camp. Sunday, he had the only sack of Stroud and added three tackles (one solo/one for loss), one quarterback hit and a pass defensed on a tipped ball. Asked about Nolen’s impact, head coach Jonathan Gannon said, “I’d probably have to watch the tape with a critical eye there. But he’s an active, disruptive player, and the more he plays, the better he’s going to get.”
Of Stroud’s 22 completions, only five were to wide receivers: Collins 3-85, Xavier Hutchinson 1-16 and Jayden Higgins 1-4. Former Cardinals wideout Christian Kirk wasn’t targeted. Eleven were to tight ends: Schultz 8-76 and Cade Stover 3-22. The other six were to running backs: Dare Ogunbowale 3-32, Jordan 2-17 and Marks 1-8.
After playing one defensive snap against the Rams, linebacker Akeen Davis-Gaither played more again after Simon was injured in the first quarter. He led the team with 11 tackles (four solo).
The Texans were in the red zone six times and they scored on each trip. The score would have been worse had the Cardinals not limited them to field goals on three of the red-zone opportunities.
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