There was no shortage of plays to choose from this week.
Looking around the league in Week 9, we could have highlighted the Detroit Lions running through the rain. We could have examined DeAndre Hopkins making his presence felt with the Kansas City Chiefs. We could have done a deep dive on the Miami Dolphins’ rushing attack.
Instead, we chose to break down a few crucial plays that came right before halftime in the respective contests and analyze a key piece for the Los Angeles Chargers to watch.
But first, we head to the desert to review the Arizona Cardinals and their latest conquest.
Cardinals rumble for a back-breaking TD over Bears
Arizona (5–4) is in first place in the NFC West. The Cardinals have also won three straight, largely on the back of an improving defense and an occasionally dynamic offense.
On Sunday, Arizona handled the Chicago Bears, 29–9, with the game-altering play coming with 12 seconds remaining in the first half. Leading 14–9, Arizona was content to run the quarter out and go to the locker room. Instead, a perfect call and some excellent effort helped turn the game into a rout.
On the play, Arizona faced third-and-five on its 47-yard line. The Cardinals came out in a trips-right look with running back Emari Demercado in the backfield. Meanwhile, Chicago was playing a soft look with two safeties deep to prevent a big play.
When the ball was snapped, corner Tyrique Stevenson (No. 29) blitzed from the slot. Arizona ran right into the area, with Demercado getting perfect blocking from a pair of pulling linemen in his center and right guard. Once past the line of scrimmage, the Cardinals provided a convoy for Demercado. Look at the blocking downfield, including from left guard Evan Brown (No. 62), tight end Trey McBride (No. 85), and receivers Greg Dortch (No. 4) and Michael Wilson (No. 14). It was textbook.
For Arizona, the 52-yard run turned a tight game into a blowout and helped it capture a third straight win before hosting the New York Jets on Sunday.
The Bears got roasted on this last-second run by Emari Demercado of the Cardinals in the second quarter, and fair enough.
— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) November 6, 2024
But look at the blocking by Arizona. Just perfectly done. Hat on a hat all the way pic.twitter.com/kQ54knH55L
Zay Flowers torches Broncos right before the half
Everyone rightfully talks about Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry when speaking about the Ravens’ offense. We need to talk about Zay Flowers more.
On Sunday, in a 41–10 win over the Denver Broncos, Flowers was everywhere. He caught five passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Through nine weeks, he’s on pace for 1,235 receiving yards, which would rank first in franchise history for a wideout.
Last week, Flowers helped blow the game open with Baltimore leading 17–10 in the final minute of the first half. With first-and-10 at their own 47-yard line, the Ravens were trying to get into field goal range. They came out in a three-wide set with Rashod Bateman (No. 7) and Flowers (No. 4) lined up next to each other on the right side. Denver countered the look with a Cover 3 defense, playing single-high safety.
On the snap, Bateman took off and ran a go route, forcing the deep safety to carry him alongside the boundary corner. With two defensive backs occupied by Bateman’s route, Flowers bent back inside on a deep in-cut. The Broncos, playing only one high safety instead of two, were out-leveraged. The linebackers got depth but not enough, as they were held by tight end Mark Andrews (No. 89) running underneath.
The result is Flowers getting wide open behind the linebackers. However, Flowers and Jackson showed their chemistry here. Instead of continuing to run through the field and likely colliding with Devon Key (No. 26), Flowers slowed down to sit in the deep, vacated zone. Jackson also read the play that way and threw to the correct spot.
After catching the ball, Flowers used his athleticism to break back outside, up the sideline and ultimately, score on a 53-yard jaunt.
Zay Flowers has become such a smart receiver.
— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) November 6, 2024
End of the first half, he runs an in-breaker and sits down in the zone, then bolts back outside before out-running everyone for a TD.
He's a huge difference-maker for Baltimore and one of the triplets. pic.twitter.com/d5AEa3z12s
Quentin Johnston is making strides with Chargers
The Chargers are 5–3, and their defense has led the way. Yet in recent weeks, we’ve seen Justin Herbert take wing, and if that continues, he’ll need his top receiver to keep improving along the way.
In Cleveland, the Bolts easily handled the Browns, 27–10, with Johnston having a career day by catching four passes for 118 yards and a touchdown. And it was his 66-yard score that helped propel Los Angeles to a comfortable lead which it never relinquished.
Leading 7–3 with eight minutes remaining in the first half, the Chargers had a third-and-3 at their 34-yard line. Before the snap, Los Angeles showed a four-by-one set, with tight end Will Dissly (No. 81) eventually coming across the formation to help block. Cleveland matched with a Cover 3 look, as star corner Denzel Ward (No. 21) was lined up over Johnston (No. 1).
On the snap, Johnston ran a go route down the sideline. Ward squatted down on the underneath, quick out by receiver Jalen Reagor (No. 89). By Ward doing that, he needed immediate help over the top from single-high safety Juan Thornhill (No. 1). However, Thornhill was in a full backpedal to get depth and had his back to Johnston and Ward.
In reality, it appeared that Ward should have carried Johnston and essentially played man coverage on the boundary, allowing his underneath zone defenders to handle Reagor. The miscommunication proved costly.
With Herbert reloading and scrambling a bit to his right, Johnston slowed down just enough to give Herbert an easy throw. The Pro Bowler did exactly that, and Los Angeles was off and running.
If the Chargers are going to make the playoffs (and then be a factor) they need more of this from Quentin Johnston.
— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) November 6, 2024
Gets loose on a busted coverage, understands he has to create a target for a scrambling Justin Herbert, then shows some explosiveness to finish the play. pic.twitter.com/z3mEuiQJz5
This article was originally published on www.si.com as The Play That Sealed the Cardinals’ Third Consecutive Win.
