By the numbers: Arizona Cardinals’ promising first half of the season

The Arizona Cardinals’ season is at its halfway point, and they already have as many wins as last year.

At 3-4-1, the Red Birds have done well at winning the winnable games with three straight victories against Cincinnati, Atlanta and the New York Giants.

The Cards look like one of the better non-playoff contending teams in the NFL, a great step forward for the franchise.

Here is a by-the-numbers look at the first half of the season.

170

(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

The Cardinals have scored 170 points this season. They did not reach that many until Week 13 last year.

They have committed fully to head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s strategy of moving the ball through the air and have thrown nearly 100 more times than they have run.

That doesn’t work without a quarterback who is efficient and smart with the ball and Kyler Murray has been impressive in those aspects.

He is completing 63.7% of his throws and has not tossed an interception since Week 4.

He’s also been a dynamic runner, as advertised from college, with 279 yards and two touchdowns.

3

The Cardinals have three players who have gained at least 279 yards on the ground this season.

David Johnson and Chase Edmonds look like a quality tandem if both can stay healthy, which neither are heading into Week 9.

Neither halfback was healthy enough to practice on Monday with Johnson harboring an ankle injury and Edmonds has a hamstring issue.

When they return, both are dangerous weapons in the backfield and as pass catchers.

That's the hat trick for @ChaseEdmonds22 pic.twitter.com/59u7E2FFss

— Arizona Cardinals ⋈ (@AZCardinals) October 20, 2019

The Cardinals added Kenyan Drake from Miami to replace the two while injured, so perhaps he could be another tool in the increasingly loaded chest that is the Arizona backfield when Johnson and Edmonds return.

38

Still performing in year 16, receiver Larry Fitzgerald leads the team in catches (38) and receiving yards (447). Fitzgerald is 20th in the NFL in receptions and is on pace to have better numbers than in 2018.

Fitz is catching seemingly everything that comes his way. His catch percentage is 64.4%, fourth-highest of his career.

(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

27.9

While the offense is looking much better this season than last year, the defense has gotten worse.

Defending the pass has been brutal with the Cardinals allowing 277 yards per game, over 70 more than in 2018.

Opponents have completed 71.2% of their passes against the Cards, which is the third-highest against a team in the NFL. That has led to a high scoring rate for opponents at 27.9 points per game, fourth-most in the league. Patrick Peterson has only played in two games due to suspension, so perhaps he could aid those numbers down the stretch.

22

On the bright side, the Cardinals defensive line has improved at defending the run since last year and has caused some havoc in the backfield.

Arizona is 10th in the NFL with 22 sacks and linebacker Chandler Jones has 8.5 of them. He is third in the league in sacks and has eight tackles for loss and four forced fumbles. He is looking like a real defensive player of the year candidate.

6.5 sacks
4 forced fumbles
3 fumble recoveries

If you don't know his name yet, you should learn it pretty quickly. pic.twitter.com/SKomFzySB2

— Arizona Cardinals ⋈ (@AZCardinals) October 20, 2019

12

As a team, Arizona has poked the ball away a lot. It has forced 12 fumbles, four each for Jones and Terrell Suggs. It is the main way that Arizona has forced turnovers since the team only has two interceptions (tied for fewest in the league).

13

There are 13 teams in the NFL with worse records than Arizona.

But, the schedule gets more difficult down the stretch for the Cardinals with two games each against the Los Angeles Rams and the 7-0 San Francisco 49ers along with a game in Seattle.

This slate could knock them back into the top-10 for the 2020 NFL Draft, which at the end of the day is in the team’s best interest.

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