The Arizona Cardinals entered Week 5 with optimism that they could take down a struggling Cincinnati Bengals team. The Bengals, who had scored a total of six points in two previous road games this season, got right against the Cardinals.
Joe Burrow passed for 317 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-20 win over the Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on Sunday.
Buy Cardinals TicketsWhat can we take away from the loss on Sunday?
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A surprising CB swap
After four weeks with rookie Kei’Trel Clark in the starting lineup, Antonio Hamilton was announced as a starter and replaced Clark in the lineup, despite Clark seemingly having a solid season thus far.
Hamilton exited the game twice with injuries but returned both times.
Cardinals down another safety
Already missing safety Budda Baker to a hamstring on injured reserve, fellow safety Jalen Thompson got hurt on Sunday. He suffered a hamstring injury, and his absence made covering the Bengals’ receivers difficult.
A slow start
After three games of getting off to a strong start offensively, the Cardinals fell behind two scores in the first quarter for the second straight week.
They went three-and-out in each of their first two possessions and spotted the Bengals 10 points. The Cardinals would take a 14-10 lead in the second quarter but did not lead again.
Josh Dobbs had his worst game since Week 1
Dobbs had three consecutive games with a passer rating of at least 99. He had not thrown an interception this season and had not turned the ball over since Week 1.
Dobbs struggled against the Bengals. He had two touchdown passes but was picked off twice and turned the ball over three times.
His pick-six was backbreaking just after the defense made a goalline stand.
He completed less than 50% of his passes and only had 166 passing yards.
They were absolutely dominated by one player
Against the 49ers, the Cardinals were completely dominated by running back Christian McCaffrey, who scored four touchdowns and had 179 total yards.
On Sunday against the Bengals, they had no answers for receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who had a career-high 15 receptions for 192 yards and three touchdowns.
Expectations resetting
After a win over the Dallas Cowboys, there was the belief the the Cardinals were turning a corner and were going to be a tough opponent for everyone.
After two straight blowout losses, it doesn’t look like they can stop anyone defensively.
Winning games again looks like a tall task for an undermanned team.
