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Arizona Cardinals: Third quarter woes plague offense

By Larry Brake

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 14: Mackensie Alexander #20 of the Minnesota Vikings breaks up a pass to Larry Fitzgerald #11 of the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth quarter of the game at U.S. Bank Stadium on October 14, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 14: Mackensie Alexander #20 of the Minnesota Vikings breaks up a pass to Larry Fitzgerald #11 of the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth quarter of the game at U.S. Bank Stadium on October 14, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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The Arizona Cardinals’ loss in Minnesota could point to another case of third quarter offensive woes

The Arizona Cardinals fell to the Minnesota Vikings 27-17 in a tough Week 6 game on Sunday afternoon. Things were going well for the Cardinals in the first half. After trailing 13-10 at halftime, the third quarter woes plagued the Redbirds offense again.

Arizona’s defense added another touchdown to their résumé of this season. Budda Baker returned a fumble 36 yards to tie the game at 10-10. Defensively, the Cardinals have played good enough to win games despite the woeful offensive production.

The Cardinals offense has struggled throughout the season to score points. Arizona’s offense has scored 82 points through six games. They are averaging 13.7 points per game to rank 31st in the NFL.

While still considered a close game, Arizona kicked off the second half to Minnesota. Nine plays and 75 yards later, the Vikings scored a touchdown to lead 20-10, still within reach of winning the game. Then, the third quarter offensive woes halted the Cardinals momentum.

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Arizona ran three plays and punted the ball back to the Vikings. They ran three plays for a loss of five yards in their first possession of the second half. Then the Cardinals defense bent and broke on the next Minnesota possession.

Lativius Murray ran 36 yards on two plays to set up the next Vikings touchdown. Kirk Cousins ran the ball in from the 7-yard line for the score. Minnesota led Arizona 27-10, but plenty of time was still left.

Josh Rosen took the field to orchestrate a comeback victory. Rosen was moving down the field until disaster struck. Rosen was intercepted after moving the ball 26 yards down the field. The third quarter ended with Arizona behind still, 27-10.

Arizona scored a fourth quarter touchdown on a David Johnson one-yard run. Minnesota ran out the clock after both teams traded punts. The Vikings won, 27-17, in a game not as close as the score suggests.

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The Redbirds offense continued to struggle running the ball. Arizona rushed for 61 yards on 20 carries. Johnson carried the ball 18 times for 55 yards and a touchdown. Most of all, the Cardinals did not convert a third down in ten tries. They failed on fourth down attempts twice. Arizona needs to figure out the offense quickly.

The Cardinals host Denver on Thursday. In a short week, it’s going to be interesting to see how the Redbirds rebound.

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