Josh Sweat living up to the hype while Cardinals offense continues to lag behind

The Arizona Cardinals knew they needed an upgrade in the pass-rushing department this offseason.

They’ve gotten just that with the free-agent addition of Josh Sweat.

After knocking off the rust (but still pacing the team in pressures) with a sackless Week 1, Sweat now has a sack in each of the past two games.

And it didn’t take long for Sweat to make his mark in the Cardinals’ Week 3 game against the San Francisco 49ers.

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— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) September 21, 2025

Ending the first quarter with a sack on Mac Jones, Sweat was an early exclamation mark for a defense that had little trouble shutting down the 49ers. He also added a tackle for loss and two QB hits.

And that’s saying something given the injuries impacting both the front seven and secondary.

The best part of it all? The unit was hardly on the field early on behind 8:33 of work in the first half.

The worst part of it all? Arizona’s offense couldn’t do much with the extra time the defense was giving it (21:27).

Once again, the unit hasn’t been able to find a consistent rhythm through two quarters of work.

Quarterback Kyler Murray completed 70% of his pass attempts (14-for-20) but is averaging just 4.1 yards per attempt on his way to 81 first-half yards. He added another 23 yards on three carries.

And while the Cardinals are making a concerted effort to get running back James Conner going early on, he’s up to just 12 yards on seven carries to go along with three catches for 15 yards.

As for wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and the “silly conversation” regarding his target share, he’s seen two balls come his way for six yards. The first target that came his way was with 1:10 left in the first quarter.

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