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The Arizona Cardinals suffered a 36-24 road loss to the New York Giants in Week 4, coming up short of both a 30-point game and a chance to even their record at 2-2. The offense mustered just 270 yards in the defeat.
Fast Start Fades Quickly
Unlike Week 3, when they spotted their opponent a 14-0 lead, the Cardinals came out firing on Sunday. They scored touchdowns on their first two possessions, jumping ahead 14-3. A long kick return by Devin Duvernay set up a 58-yard, eight-play drive, and the next series covered 74 yards in six plays.
However, after those two scoring drives produced 132 yards, the offense managed only 138 yards over the remaining 11 possessions. In those 11 drives, they turned the ball over three times and went three-and-out six times. They added a 33-yard field goal drive and a 35-yard touchdown drive, but the other nine possessions netted just 70 yards.
Brissett's Struggles Under Center
Quarterback Jacoby Brissett threw two touchdown passes but also tossed three interceptions, including a game-ending pick on fourth-and-goal. It marked the first three-interception game of his career. He completed 21 of 35 passes for 166 yards, averaging a paltry 4.7 yards per attempt. Over his last three games, his yards per attempt have been 3.4, 5.4, and 4.7.
Brissett's record as a starter now stands at 2-14 in 16 games. Despite having opportunities to win games, he has failed to produce a game-winning touchdown in seven chances where he had the ball at the end of the fourth quarter or overtime. His only points in such situations came on a game-tying field goal at the end of regulation in Week 12 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but he failed to score in overtime that game and in similar situations against the Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons, and now the Giants.
McBride's Limited Impact
Tight end Trey McBride recorded seven receptions for 31 yards on Sunday, giving him 33 catches in four games with at least seven receptions in each. However, he is not generating yards after the catch. Over the last three games, he has 147 yards on 24 catches, averaging just 6.1 yards per reception. That is even lower than Zach Ertz's 6.9 yards per catch for the Cardinals in seven games in 2023, when Ertz was returning from a torn ACL and appeared slow.
This could be a quarterback issue or a scheme problem.
Love's Usage Dips
After receiving 26 touches against the 49ers, running back Love was in the starting lineup but saw reduced usage. He rushed for 63 yards on 14 carries and had one reception for a loss of eight yards. After playing 56 snaps in Week 3, he logged only 30 snaps and played less than Tyler Allgeier. He was not on the field for the final drive when the Cardinals failed to score on four straight plays from inside the five-yard line.
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: 6 observations on offense in Arizona Cardinals' Week 4 loss.
Originally reported by yahoo.