Budda Baker, safety for the Arizona Cardinals, has been vocal about challenging his teammates on the defensive line to improve their run defense. Baker often motivates them with a promise: “‘Hey, if you get these guys to this number or less, I’ll take y’all out to dinner,'” he said. “the next week, (if) they didn’t hold them, I’ll be like, ‘I take that dinner back.'”
While Baker laughs about the bet, he emphasizes the importance of stopping the run game. The Cardinals are preparing to face the Green Bay Packers, whose running back Josh Jacobs is among the league leaders in rushing touchdowns with six. This comes after a recent game where Jonathan Taylor rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown against Arizona.
Cardinals defensive lineman Calais Campbell noted, “If I’m them, and I see that we gave up 150 yards rushing last week, they’re going to try to come in here and try to run the ball. If we want to win this game, we can’t let them run the ball. That’s got to be the number one focus.”
Last season, when Arizona played Green Bay on the road, they allowed 179 rushing yards. Despite improvements and investments in their defensive front seven, Arizona currently ranks 13th in rushing defense by allowing an average of 102 yards per game.
Campbell stated, “This is the biggest challenge we’re going to have all year is stopping this run game and trying to make them one dimensional. For us to win this game, we’re going to have to do that.”
Campbell also recalled his last home playoff matchup against Green Bay in 2015 when Larry Fitzgerald had a standout performance with 176 receiving yards and a memorable overtime touchdown.
The outcome of this week’s game could significantly impact Arizona’s season trajectory as they approach their bye week. A victory would break a four-game losing streak and give them momentum moving forward.
Green Bay’s offense also features quarterback Jordan Love, who has already surpassed his previous season’s rushing total with 88 yards through five games. The Packers rank eighth in league scoring and Love had a strong performance against Arizona last year.
Coach Jonathan Gannon addressed strategies for facing Green Bay: “Affect the quarterback,” he said. “And you got to get up and challenge those receivers because they play the game in space and they want to try to take away some of the space and access.”
Baker reinforced his team’s urgency: “We’ve got to be able to stop the run,” he said. “If you can stop the run and get them to more second-and-pass situations, that’s where we can play our coverages and do what we do.”
In roster moves ahead of Sunday’s matchup, veteran running back D’Ernest Johnson was elevated from the practice squad due to Emari Demercado’s ankle injury. Johnson will serve as third running back behind Michael Carter and Bam Knight. Johnson previously played under offensive coordinator Drew Petzing during their time together with Cleveland.
