Arizona Cardinals: Defense has tough task stopping Chiefs offense

The Arizona Cardinals have a tough task this weekend in Kansas City against the Chiefs. Will the Redbirds defense be able to stop the offensive juggernaut?

Would it be reasonable to ask the Arizona Cardinals to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs on the road in Week 10? Is it fair to ask the Cardinals defense to pitch a shutout against the Chiefs offensive machine? Most of all, can the Arizona defense stop this potent juggernaut?

The Cardinals rank 22nd in total defense through nine weeks. They are allowing an average of 224.6 passing yards per game (seventh in the NFL). They are giving up an average of 143.1 rushing yards per game (31st). How does that match up to the Chiefs offensive numbers?

Kansas City gains an average of 433.4 total yards per game (3rd). They pass for an average of 315.9 yards per game (3rd). The Chiefs are rushing for an average of 117.6 yards per game (13th). In nine games, Kansas City has 327 points. In eight games, Arizona has scored 110 points. Will the Cardinals allow a half-century to be hung on them?

First of all, the Cardinals defense will have to realize that Kansas City will regularly move the chains. In their only loss of the season, the Chiefs scored 40 points on New England. The Redbirds defense will have to play bend but not break too often.

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The Cardinals front seven will have to constantly pressure and contain the Chiefs quarterback. Patrick Mahomes is the catalyst that makes their offense potent. He is having a phenomenal season.

According to NFL.com’s Next Gen Stats, he is much better than the NFL average in nine of the 12 passing zones. In the other three zones, he is within the NFL average. He has a quarterback rating of 116.7 and is completing 66.2 percent off his passes.

Last Sunday, Mahomes did not throw a pass between the hash marks down field. The majority of his passes were to the right side of the field. Maybe the Cardinals defense should play six secondary defenders and five men in the box.

Josh Alpers of Pro Football Talk reported the following regarding the point spread for Sunday’s game:

"The 8-1 Chiefs opened as 17-point favorites over the 2-6 Cardinals and that marks the largest opening spread of the 2018 season."

There isn’t much confidence that Arizona will be able to win the game. Apparently, this game can be compared to other David and Goliath match ups. Can the underdog Cardinals pull off the upset? Their defense will have to play lights out for it to happen.