Inside the Numbers: Arizona Cardinals vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

PHOENIX — The Cardinals return to Arizona for a three-game homestand after falling to the Houston Texans on the road last week. Two of Arizona’s next three opponents, Jacksonville and Tennessee, will be first-time visitors to University of Phoenix Stadium.

This week’s game marks just the fifth regular-season meeting between Arizona and Jacksonville since the Jaguars joined the league as an expansion franchise in 1995. Among the other 30 NFL clubs, only Houston (four) has played fewer games against the Cardinals.

CARDINALS

Quarterback Blaine Gabbert passed for 257 yards and three touchdowns for a 92.4 rating in Week 11. He spent three seasons (2011-13) with Jacksonville and had 22 touchdown passes.

He played last week for three and half quarters and had a career-high with three touchdowns passes but had two fourth-quarter interceptions. Gabbert deserved better from his receivers with at least four drops and the lack of a running game.

Running back Adrian Peterson has 164 rush yards (82 per game) and three touchdowns in two career games against Jacksonville. He has 99 career rushing touchdowns and needs one to become the ninth player in NFL history with 100 rush touchdowns.

He’s been up and down since he joined the Cardinals. Anytime he is tackled for a loss in the backfield that’s on the offensive line and he needs to little more patient on some of the run plays.

Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald had nine catches for 91 yards and a touchdown last week. Has 15,157 career receiving yards and surpassed Tony Gonzalez (15,127) for fifth most all-time.

He ranks second in the NFL with 69 receptions and fifth with 768 receiving yards. He also aims for this third in a row at home with 10-plus receptions & 100-plus receiving yards.

Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey wasn’t on the injury report all week, but has a hand injury and he said he will not play. He’s listed as questionable on the injury report. He was scheduled to cover Fitzgerald during the game.

According to Roy Cummings, Ramsey has been a critical part of a Jaguars defense that has risen to the top of the league rankings in total defense, points allowed, sacks and takeaways.

Through 10 games this year he has recorded 36 tackles, 14 pass breakups, and two interceptions as part of what many have come to believe as the best secondary in the league.

Tight end Ricky Seals-Jones had two touchdown catches last week, his first two career touchdowns and he only played eight offensive snaps vs. Texans. He’s a former wide receiver and the Cardinals moved him to tight end during the undrafted free agent rookie camp.

Linebacker Chandler Jones is tied for fourth in the NFL with 10 sacks. He has four sacks in his past four games at home. Don’t mean to repetitive but he needs to make more impact or splash plays when the game is on the line.

Cornerback Patrick Peterson had three pass deflections last week.

Safety Antonie Bethea has two interceptions in his past three at home. He had an interception in his last game against Jacksonville. He’s been a great addition and provides excellent leadership in the locker room right mentor for some of the younger players.

Slot corner Tyrann Mathieu has an interception in two of his past three games facing the AFC. He has 22 tackles and a sack in his past three games at home.

Mathieu has played better lately. They are using him in a lot of different situations on defense, blitzing and playing him closer to the line of scrimmage.

Rookie safety Budda Baker had 12 tackles, a sack, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in his first-career start last week.

He graded out last week 99.9, a perfect grade, according to Pro Football Focus.

JAGUARS

Quarterback Blake Bortles has 1,144 pass yards (286 per game) and 11 touchdowns for a 102.1 rating in four career road games against the NFC.

He’s done a better job of managing the game and not making the costly mistakes in the second half. Jacksonville’s strong rushing attack takes pressure off him.

Rookie running back Leonard Fournette rushed for 111 yards in Week 11. Has four 100-plus rush yard games in 2017, tied for the most in the NFL and the second most by a rookie in franchise history.

Bruce Arians was asked if he sees comparisons between Fournette and other running backs he has coached.

“Yeah, I mean he’s very close to (Rams running back Todd) Gurley. They were very similar coming out, and they both run, catch and are shifty, big guys. I think he was the closest thing to Todd.”

Wide receiver Marquise Lee has two touchdowns passes in his past three games against the NFC on the road.

Defensive end Calais Campbell spent nine seasons with Arizona. He ranks second in franchise history with 56.5 sacks. He is tied for the NFL lead with 11.5 sacks.

Campbell was a great addition to the franchise on and off the field. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Cardinals played a video tribute before the game honoring his nine years with the organization.

Defensive end Yannick Ngakoue had 2.5 sacks last week. He has four games with two-plus sacks in 2017, the most in the NFL. He has ten sacks, five forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in the past six on the road.

Defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. aims for his sixth road game in a row with a sack. Fowler is a situational pass-rusher on passing downs, a good open-field tackler that can drop back into coverage.

Cornerback A.J. Bouye has had two straight games with an interception and was a big signing in the offseason coming over from the Texans. He signed a five-year, $67.5 million contract with the Jaguars, including a $10 million signing bonus, $26 million guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $13.5 million.

Some stats/texts are courtesy of NFL Media, the Arizona Cardinals and Pro Football Focus.

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