Joe Camporeale – USA TODAY Sports
There is only way to describe what happened in the Arizona Cardinals game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. It was utter domination. The Cardinals dominated the Packers on all fronts, but their defense was truly fantastic. They proved that they have the best stop unit in the NFL based on what they were able to do to the Packers.
From the start of the game, the Cardinals were constantly beating the Packers on the offensive line. The team managed to total nine sacks on the day and they got unbelievable performances from Calais Campbell and Dwight Freeney. Campbell was great at getting into the backfield, but Freeney had a bigger impact. Freeney, who just recently signed with the team, recorded three sacks on the day and he was constantly wreaking havoc in the backfield. It seemed like he beat Green Bay’s tackles every play.
Speaking of the Packers’ tackles, they were not very good. Of course, the team was already without starting left tackle David Bakhtiari and they lost right tackle Bryan Bulaga midway through the contest. The backups, Don Barclay and Josh Walker, were awful and they just couldn’t stop the rush. They were part of the reason that the Cardinals’ defense was able to do so much damage to Aaron Rodgers.
Elsewhere on defense, the secondary didn’t miss a beat despite being without one of their best players. Tyrann Mathieu was lost for the season, but Justin Bethel looks like he will be able to adequately replace the Pro Bowl caliber safety. They held the Packers’ defense in check, and that was pretty much all that needs to be said about their efforts.
The performance today by the Cardinals made it completely apparent that they have the best defense in the league. The team has a pass rush that is really starting to come on and their team is excellent in coverage as well. They manhandled what was at least a decent offense coming into the game and they will probably be able to fare well in the postseason because of their defense.
They already have a stellar offense and they are the most balanced team in the NFL at the moment. If they can keep up their terrific play, then they will be the favorites to win it all this year.
Jacob Camenker is an NFL Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. You can like him on Facebook here, follow him on Twitter @jacobyhorse, or add him to your network on Google.
