2026
2026 season · Weeks 1 to 8 · 3-5
Cardinals defense
Every snap the Cardinals defended, what it cost them and how they got there: the league ranks the player pages quote, where offenses find room, how this defense plays, and who plays in it.
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- How good+0.08 EPA a play allowed, 26th of 32, and 0.08 above what the offenses they faced usually manage (27th).
- How they playThey blitz on 32% of dropbacks, the 14th-most in the league, and get pressure on 18%.
- Where offenses find roomThrough the air: +0.26 EPA a dropback, 31st, softest deep right (+0.99 a throw).
- Who hurt themJaxon Smith-Njigba (SEA): 155 yards and +17.9 EPA on 11 touches, the most anyone has managed against them.
- Next upWeek 9 against the Seahawks, whose offense ranks 24th in EPA a play.
How good is itthe defense against the league, and game by game
| Stat | Value | Rank | League | Pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPA per playevery snap | +0.08 | 26th of 32 | 20th | |
| Pass EPAper dropback | +0.26 | 31st of 32 | 5th | |
| Rush EPAper designed run | -0.14 | 6th of 32 | 83rd | |
| Success rateplays that gain enough | 43% | 13th of 32 | 61st | |
| Explosive rate20+ pass, 10+ run | 10% | 19th of 32 | 42nd | |
| Yards per play | 5.8 | 24th of 32 | 27th | |
| Yards per carry | 3.9 | 13th of 32 | 61st | |
| Third downsconverted against them | 41% | 17th of 32 | 48th |
| Stat | Value | Rank | League | Pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sack rateper dropback | 7.3% | 8th of 32 | 77th | |
| Pressure rateper dropback, PFR | 18% | 28th of 32 | 14th | |
| QB hit rateper dropback | 14% | 23rd of 32 | 30th | |
| INT rateper dropback | 1.2% | 25th of 32 | 23rd | |
| Red-zone TD ratetrips ending in a touchdown | 68% | 22nd of 32 | 33rd | |
| Points per drivetouchdown 7, field goal 3 | 2.58 | 28th of 32 | 14th | |
| Takeawaysper game | 0.9 | 27th of 32 | 17th | |
| EPA against expectationallowed minus the offenses' usual | +0.08 | 27th of 32 | 17th |
Each bar is the league's 32 defenses; the marker is the Cardinals. Right is better for the defense, so a low EPA allowed sits right. The pressure rate is PFR's pressures (hurries, hits and sacks) per dropback. EPA against expectation compares each game with what that offense averaged in its other games, so a strong schedule is not held against them.
They held 3 of 8 offenses below their usual EPA a play. The biggest stop: Week 6 against the Rams, 0.21 a play under their norm. The offenses they have faced average +0.00 a play elsewhere, the 16th-toughest schedule of offenses.
at LACW 26-14-0.24usual -0.26
vs SEAL 7-31+0.13usual -0.09
at SFL 30-36+0.49usual +0.13
at NYGL 24-36-0.09usual +0.03
vs DETL 21-45+0.33usual +0.08
at LAW 18-16-0.14usual +0.07
vs DENL 16-30+0.20usual -0.06
at DALW 33-30-0.05usual +0.11Where offenses find roomthe field, the run lanes, the positions and the situations
The soft spot is deep right: +0.99 EPA a throw against a league +0.33. The lockdown zone is short right, +0.00 a throw (league +0.11). Completions against them run 0.5 points under expected, 16th-best in the league.
Every pass they faced with a charted air distance and side, sacks excluded. Green is a zone where they allow less than the league, red more. How often shows the share of throws against them there.
Offenses run for 3.9 yards a carry against them, 13th of 32. The leak is off right tackle: 4.7 a carry and +0.06 EPA (league 4.1, -0.06).
| Position | Targets a game | Yards a game | EPA per target | Fantasy points allowed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wide receivers | 16.16th | 151.521st | +0.5232nd-toughest | 23.76th-most28.610th-most33.513th-most |
| Tight ends | 7.012th | 56.120th | +0.3323rd-toughest | 9.98th-most12.69th-most15.49th-most |
| Backs, receiving | 4.65th | 30.013th | +0.1220th-toughest | 17.715th-most19.314th-fewest20.814th-fewest |
| Quarterbacks | – | – | – | 22.02nd-most22.02nd-most22.02nd-most |
Who hurt them most
| Player | Team | Touches | Yards | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA | 11 | 155 | 3 | +17.9 |
| Sam LaPorta | DET | 5 | 88 | 1 | +12.9 |
| Malik Nabers | NYG | 7 | 112 | 1 | +10.9 |
| George Kittle | SF | 7 | 82 | 2 | +10.2 |
| Mike Evans | SF | 6 | 114 | 2 | +9.5 |
| Jameson Williams | DET | 4 | 47 | 2 | +8.1 |
Targets, yards and EPA per target by the receiver's position, ranked 1st for the toughest defense: the same numbers a receiver's This week panel quotes against this defense. Fantasy points allowed follow the scoring switch. Who hurt them ranks every opposing player by EPA on his targets and carries against this defense.
Their biggest third-down edge is third-and-short (1 to 3): offenses convert 58% against a league 61%. They are stingiest in the two-minute drill (-0.16 a play, league +0.00) and weakest in 3rd down (+0.26, league -0.04).
| Situation | Plays | Allowed | League | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st down | 209 | +0.03 | +0.01 | +0.01 |
| 2nd down | 157 | +0.04 | +0.01 | +0.04 |
| 3rd down | 94 | +0.26 | -0.04 | +0.30 |
| 3rd and 1 to 3 | 24 | 58% | 61% | −2 pts |
| 3rd and 4 to 6 | 24 | 54% | 44% | +10 pts |
| 3rd and 7+ | 46 | 26% | 27% | −0 pts |
| Red zone | 94 | +0.07 | +0.03 | +0.03 |
| Two-minute drill | 50 | -0.16 | +0.00 | -0.16 |
| When they lead | 138 | -0.02 | +0.01 | -0.03 |
| One-score game | 335 | +0.05 | -0.01 | +0.06 |
| When they trail by 9+ | 118 | +0.22 | +0.03 | +0.19 |
EPA a play allowed, or for third downs the share converted (a first down or a touchdown). Green is better than the league for the defense. Score states are from the defense's side.
How they playpressure, the box, what offenses try, discipline
They send extra rushers on 32% of dropbacks and average 4.4 rushers; 68% of dropbacks see four or fewer. They allow +0.34 EPA when they blitz and +0.22 when they do not.
They put 6.6 defenders in the box on runs, eight or more on 7%. Into a light box (six or fewer) runs gain 4.0 a carry; into eight or more, 2.4.
Offenses lean on the run against them: 4 points under their expected pass rate on early downs in a neutral game. Play action gains +0.34 EPA against them on 27% of throws; screens +0.27.
30 defensive penalties for 321 yards, 18 of them first downs, the 29th-fewest. They miss 7% of tackle attempts by PFR's count, 5th-best.
The defenderswho plays, and what each one has done
Josh Sweat leads the pass rush with 8 pressures and 3 sacks on 57% of the snaps.
| Player | Snaps | Pressures | Sacks | QB hits | TFL | Tackles | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55Dante StillsDT | 60% | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 21 | |
| 10Josh SweatLB | 57% | 8 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 21 | |
| 51Roy LopezDT | 49% | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 23 | |
| 97Walter NolenDT | 46% | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 13 | |
| 91L.J. CollierDE | 45% | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 12 | |
| 52Jordan BurchLB | 41% | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 17 | |
| 56Darius RobinsonDL | 36% | 8 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 22 | |
| 95Andrew BillingsDT | 7% | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 98Jared Harrison-HunteDT | 6% | 4 |
Mack Wilson plays 99% of the snaps with 54 tackles.
| Player | Snaps | Tackles | TFL | Sacks | Pressures | Targets | Rating allowed | Missed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Mack WilsonLB | 99% | 54 | 3 | 1 | 24 | 100.2 | 4 | |
| 50Jack GibbensLB | 86% | 60 | 1 | 0.5 | 3 | 24 | 101.9 | 4 |
| 5Baron BrowningLB | 48% | 11 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 100.6 | 1 |
| 25Zaven CollinsLB | 47% | 23 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 58.6 | |
| 54Eku LeotaLB | 12% | 6 | 1 | 1 | 95.8 | 1 | ||
| 0Cody SimonLB | 9% | 15 | 3 | 88.9 | ||||
| 43Karson ShararLB | 0% | 7 |
Max Melton is the hardest to complete a pass against: a 75.8 passer rating on 25 targets.
| Player | Snaps | Targets | Catches allowed | Yards | TD | Rating allowed | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3Budda BakerS | 99% | 27 | 13 of 27 | 257 | 3 | 95.0 | 1 | 4 |
| 29Denzel BurkeCB | 86% | 27 | 17 of 27 | 172 | 3 | 83.8 | 1 | 7 |
| 16Max MeltonCB | 56% | 25 | 13 of 25 | 154 | 1 | 75.8 | 4 | |
| 28Andrew WingardSAF | 50% | 8 | 5 of 8 | 103 | 86.7 | 1 | 1 | |
| 13Kei'Trel ClarkCB | 41% | 11 | 4 of 11 | 42 | 60.6 | 3 | ||
| 21Garrett WilliamsCB | 34% | 14 | 9 of 14 | 142 | 1 | 84.5 | 1 | |
| 2Will JohnsonCB | 22% | 14 | 7 of 14 | 105 | 1 | 94.8 | 1 | |
| 42Dadrion Taylor-DemersonSAF | 20% | 3 | 2 of 3 | 56 | 96.5 | |||
| 35Kalen KingCB | 20% | 5 | 3 of 5 | 57 | 87.1 | 1 |
Tackles, sacks, QB hits, TFL, interceptions, passes defended and forced fumbles are nflverse's weekly stats; pressures, targets, catches and yards allowed, passer rating allowed and missed tackles are PFR's charting. Snap share is the season average of defensive snaps.