ESPN: Arizona Cardinals have NFL’s third-best offense

Through six weeks, the Arizona Cardinals have tallied the most points in the NFL at 203. That equates to an average of 33.83, which is a number any team would be pleased with.

Of the 25 touchdowns the team has scored this season, 21 have come from the offense, which has featured a nice balance between a dynamic passing game and an effective running game.

Carson Palmer has thrown 14 touchdown passes, which is tied for the second most of any QB in the league, to six different players, while Arizona’s top three backs — Chris Johnson, Andre Ellington and David Johnson — have all reached the end zone at least two times via a rush.

Put it all together, and it should come as no surprise that the Cardinals are listed among the best offenses in the NFL. According to an ESPN Insider piece, according to Football Outsiders’ DVOA, Arizona actually has the third-best offense in the league, behind only the New England Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals.

No, Arizona’s offensive improvement this year is not just about Carson Palmer finally being healthy. The Cardinals’ offensive numbers in 2014 were certainly dragged down by a few disastrous weeks of Ryan Lindley under center, but the Cardinals weren’t exactly a juggernaut when Palmer was healthy, either.

Arizona finished last year with minus-9.3 percent offensive DVOA, which ranked 23rd in the league. In the six games started by Palmer, they had minus-8.5 percent offensive DVOA, which would have ranked… 23rd in the league.

In reality, everything in the Arizona offense has improved this season. That does include Palmer, who is playing better than he has in years. But it also includes the receiving corps and the running game, where Larry Fitzgerald and Chris Johnson both seem to have found the fountain of youth.

The Cardinals also are getting great play on the offensive line, which had been a major weakness for years. Arizona ranks second in adjusted line yards and sixth in adjusted sack rate. Between the better blocking, the re-emergence of CJ2K and the fine rookie performance of David Johnson, the Arizona running game has gone from 30th in DVOA a year ago to 10th this season.

It’s possible this ranking comes at a bad time for Cardinals fans, who just saw their team score just 13 points in a road loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, Arizona did rack up 469 yards of offense in the game, with Palmer passes accounting for 421. Though they had trouble getting the ball into the end zone, the Cardinals had little issue moving up and down the field — which is a sign of just how good their offense can be.

Of course, having all the offensive firepower in the world does not mean much if it does not equate to points, which is something the Cardinals know they have to do a better job of. Still, it’s not like they’re incapable, and that has to be viewed as a positive.

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