Arizona Cardinals defense finding success stopping fourth downs

The Cardinals have the sixth-best percentage in the NFL in preventing fourth down conversions, allowing six first downs on 14 opponent fourth down plays this season.

The last time the Cardinals played, a big fourth-and-1 stop in the second quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers set the stage for a 99-yard touchdown drive, and with that the Cardinals took over the game on their way to a 24-10 win on the road.

"Pad level, technique, get off where you’re supposed to be, we practice that every day," Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said. "Do we line up and butt heads on the one? No, but in (training) camp we did. I think a little bit of that, too, is for a yard, is your will. If you can measure that, it’d be cool. A lot of guys did what they’re coached to do, and they won at the point of attack. They won a lot of one-on-one battles and knocked it down."

Cardinals defensive coordinator Nick Rallis said he had to have the players ready for the Steelers' unique play calls on fourth-and-short near the goal line. Rallis saw defensive linemen Kevin Strong and Roy Lopez knock the ball carrier, Najee Harris, backward, and then safety Budda Baker provided a late shove.

"You can see that pile doesn't move because it's hard if that line of scrimmage changes, that second level is not gonna be able to affect that play," Rallis said. "So it starts with knock-back up front and the second level coming and getting on the legs of the ball carrier and not allowing that hidden yardage to show up, because all it takes is an inch in that situation."

The Purdy Watch

49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, the pride of Gilbert Perry High School, will be making his first appearance at State Farm Stadium in Glendale as an NFL quarterback when his team meets the Cardinals on Sunday, and he’s sure to have a huge legion of family and friends on hand to welcome him.

You can count Cardinals coach Gannon and Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray among those who have been impressed with what he’s done thus far, despite being the last player picked overall in the 2022 draft out of Iowa State.

Purdy leads the NFL with a 70.2 completion percentage, a 116.5 passer rating, ranks third in total passing yards (3,553) and is tied for second with Buffalo’s Josh Allen in touchdown passes (25).

“I’m sure he has a huge chip on his shoulder being the last pick,” Murray, the former Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick out of Oklahoma, said. “Obviously, me being in the Big 12 together, I know what he’s capable of. Seeing him and playing against him, but other people may not, with him being at Iowa State, nobody watching Iowa State on TV for the most part.

“They’re not a nationally televised team all the time, so you never know. I’ve known what he’s capable of, so to see what he’s doing, obviously they’re a great team. Got nothing but respect for what he’s doing.”

Gannon said Purdy’s production isn’t just because of the system, environment and playmaker he has around him with San Francisco. It’s mostly because of how he’s embraced the offense and helped make it thrive.

“He plays the game how they want him to play the game,” Gannon said. “He doesn’t turn it over. He is very efficient. … I think he improves every game. You see him do some things that he didn’t do last year and he’s a really good player.”

More mutual respect

Sunday’s game also features the sixth career meeting between Murray and the player picked second overall behind him in the 2018 draft, 49ers pass rusher Nick Bosa.

Bosa has only one sack of Murray in the five games they faced each other thus far, but Murray doesn’t view the matchup as a personal rivalry of any kind.

“No. I respect Nick a lot,” he said. “I love to go against great players. Us coming in together, I think that’s pretty cool. I think we both take pride in that. It’s a special deal to be in the NFL and be able to go against these guys. We’ve both been in the same organization for a long time. Hopefully, we’ll continue to be here even longer and go against each other for the rest of our time here.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a rivalry, though. I don’t look at it like that.”

Making it look easy

Earlier this week, the Cardinals posted a video on social media of veteran kicker Matt Prater casually executing three consecutive trick-shot “field goals” at the team’s Tempe training facility.

The first was a kick that hit a bucket to the left, the second was a kick that purposely nailed the middle of the cross bar, and the third soared right through a hoop to the right of the goal post.

Special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers, who also worked with Prater in Denver with the Broncos, said he didn’t see the video.

“Sounds impressive,” he said, adding he hasn’t seen Prater attempt too many trick-shot kicks. “Accuracy from him is something you do see on a frequent basis.”

Prater has been successful on an NFL-record 78 field goals from 50 yards or farther in his career, including a franchise-record 19 in 43 total games for the Cardinals.

New linebacker

Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort is showing that it's never too late in the season to try to improve the roster. The team added linebacker Tyreke Smith to the active roster off of the Seattle Seahawks' practice squad Friday.

Smith is a former fifth-round pick out of Ohio State who spent his rookie season, 2022, on injured reserve.

Cardinals to visit St. Vincent de Paul

The Cardinals will host a holiday part at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul’s Washington Street Shelter on Saturday from noon to 2 p.m.

Team representatives, including Nicole Bidwill, will join Cardinals Cheerleaders and mascot Big Red in serving individuals in need. The event will begin with lunch prior to outdoor activities featuring equine therapy, yard games, giveaways and more.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Notes from Arizona Cardinals' week of practice heading into Week 15