The Arizona Cardinals built a large lead against the Carolina Panthers but saw that margin shrink to just five points by the end of the game. The Cardinals’ defensive strategy, led by head coach Jonathan Gannon and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis, focused on making Panthers quarterback Bryce Young work for every yard. However, this approach allowed Carolina to gain significant ground in the second half.
Gannon addressed questions about the team’s defensive choices after the game. “On a headset with (defensive coordinator) Nick (Rallis), I’ve been in a couple of those situations,” Gannon said. “Your gut’s pulling you one way, your brain’s pulling you another way and you have to be smart about it. With saying that, I thought that we defended how we needed to defend at the appropriate times.”
In the second half, Carolina scored touchdowns on drives of 14, 14, and 12 plays before Arizona managed to stop them after an onside kick attempt. During their final scoring drive, the Cardinals gave up a fourth-and-16 conversion.
Through two games this season, Arizona has blitzed less than any other team in the league. Their defensive plan also aimed to limit Young’s ability to scramble, which influenced their decision to use only four pass rushers at times.
“I did point out to the whole team and Nick pointed out to the defense (that) there were some snaps within those drives that we could have put the game away,” Gannon said. “For one reason or another, we didn’t get it done. That’s what we tried to correct. That one fourth-and-long, we pointed that play out. It’s fourth-and-16, you get off there (and) the game is probably over. It’s never over obviously, but you it’s looking really good for you.
“Do you want that call there? My instinct said one thing and his brain and my brain both went the other way. No, that is not the right call at fourth-and-16 with the lead with this amount of time. It’s unfortunate we didn’t get off because as soon as they convert … I don’t want to be the results driven guy (saying) that was a bad call. It wasn’t a bad call and you could say then let’s just do the opposite but the risk-reward of that, it doesn’t weigh itself out.”
Arizona started strong and put pressure on Young early in Sunday’s matchup. Internal debate among coaches centered on whether being more aggressive defensively might have allowed Carolina back into contention too easily.
Other factors also played into how close the game became late in regulation; for example, if Kyler Murray had not thrown an interception or if Carolina had not recovered an onside kick attempt, Arizona’s defensive decisions would likely not have been questioned as closely.
Despite reviewing several calls he would like back—such as relying too often on a four-man rush—Rallis acknowledged that individual plays throughout the last quarter could have sealed victory for Arizona.
“There were definitely some plays and some snaps in there in the last quarter of football that if we do a better job, it probably puts the game away,” Gannon said.
