The Arizona Cardinals had a solid showing in all phases in their Week 1 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Since then, things have been bad defensively.
They have allowed over 30 points in three straight games. Dating back to last season, they have given up over 30 points in nine of their last 13 contests with a record of 1-12.
We have detailed how good the Detroit Lions' offense is, as the Lions face the Cardinals in Week 5, but the Arizona defense has some problems.
They give up too many yards and points
The Cardinals are 24th in yards allowed, giving up 351.3 per game. They are 29th in points allowed, giving up 29.3 per game, and that is with their win over the Chargers giving up only 14. Based on the last three games, allowing an average of 34.3 points, they would be the worst in the league.
They don't really stop the run
They have allowed 117.5 rushing yards per game, which is 19th in the league. They are 18th in yards allowed per rush at 4.2.
They are bad against the pass
They are 24th in passing yards allowed, giving up 233.8 per game. But they are last in yards per attempt allowed, giving up 9.1 yards per pass attempt.
They allow a passer rating of 114.9, which is second-to-last. It is notable that the NFL's all-time leader for passer rating is 102.7 by Lamar Jackson. In terms of single-season passer rating, there have only been 11 single-season passer ratings better than what the Cardinals have allowed.
The 11 touchdown passes allowed are tied for the most in the league. They have allowed 10 in their last three games, at least three in each of their last three games, and two of those games were to Seattle's Drew Lock and New York's Jameis Winston, who are backup quarterbacks who started in place of injured starters.
They are not good on third down or in the red zone
Opponents convert on 45.5% of their third downs against the Cardinals. Only seven teams allow a greater conversion rate. They have been good on fourth down, though allowing only 1-of-6 attempts.
In the red zone, opponents score touchdowns 69.2% of the time, which is 25th in the league.
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: 4 problems with the Arizona Cardinals' defense entering Week 5
