How does the Green Bay Packers' run defense compare to the Cardinals' run offense?
| NFL.com | Rank |
|---|---|
| Packers Run Defense | 1 |
| Cardinals Run Offense | 28 |
| Football Outsiders | Rank |
|---|---|
| Packers Run Defense | 3 |
| Cardinals Run Offense | 16 |
The last time the Cardinals played a run defense as good as the Packers was back on December 6th against the Vikings. In that game, QB Kurt Warner dropped back 32 times, and the Cardinals ran the ball 25 times. But if you go back and look at the play-by-play, the Cardinals ran 7 times on their final drive in the 4th quarter compared to 3 pass attempts. It appears that they were trying to run out some clock up 27-10. Take out that final drive, and the Cardinals ran the ball just under 40% of the time. They put up good numbers overall thanks to a 19 yard run by WR Steve Breaston, but their top 2 backs (RB Tim Hightower and RB Beanie Wells) were held to a combined 19 carries for 78 yards. They will try and run the ball against the Packers, but it's not clear they'll have much success.
The only time in the past 8 games that a Packer opponent has attempted over 20 rushing attempts or ran for over 100 yards as a team was the Seahawks in week 16. QB Matt Hasselbeck was a disaster in that game, but the Seahawks were able to run the ball early with some success, in part because NT Ryan Pickett missed that game due to an injured hamstring. It's been a tough few weeks as he's struggled with the injury, but he's been back at practice this week and he should give a boost to an already dominant run defense.
Despite spending a 1st round pick on Wells last April, it seems like the run offense is still just a complimentary part of the Cardinals' offense. Do you think they'll try and run the ball, and can they be successful?