Arizona Cardinals GM Steve Keim: Balance was key in win over Oakland Raiders
Oct 20, 2014, 3:30 PM | Updated: 3:31 pm
Another week, another workmanlike win on the road for the Arizona Cardinals.
Carson Palmer threw two touchdown passes, running backs Andre Ellington and Stepfan Taylor were big factors on offense and the defense played well in the Cardinals’ 24-13 win over the Oakland Raiders Sunday.
The key to the win, according to general manager Steve Keim, was offensive balance.
“You think about the balance we had offensively, I can’t remember a time we ran the ball five more times than we threw it,” Keim told Doug and Wolf Monday on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. “To see Andre and Stepfan have so much success on the ground and to see the balance we had — you know, it wasn’t perfect by any stretch.
“Andre, as well as he played, had two critical drops — one being on a third-down conversion that would have been big for us. But we played well as a whole.”
The Cardinals ran the ball 37 times for 123 yards on the day while throwing it 31 times for 242 yards. It was the first time the Cardinals had more rushing attempts than passes since their 17-10 Week 16 win over the Seattle Seahawks last season. In that contest, Arizona ran 43 times while throwing only 25.
With the win, the Cardinals move their record to an NFC West-best 5-1 and picked up a game on both Seattle and San Francisco, who both lost Sunday. Despite the lack of flashy numbers, Bruce Arians’ team just continues to win.
But how?
“That’s a good question,” Keim said. “I think it’s good coaching and certainly a locker room of guys that care about each other and are invested in the same goal.”
The Cardinals return home to University of Phoenix Stadium next Sunday for a clash with the NFC East-leading Philadelphia Eagles (5-1) at 1:05 p.m.
