Arizona Cardinals seek better execution and higher energy for second-half defense

The Arizona Cardinals are searching for answers on defense after losing three straight games in which they trailed by a touchdown or less through three quarters, then lost each game by at least two touchdowns.

It's a negative but somewhat understandable trend for a team that doesn't have the established star power on the defensive side of the ball, outside of Pro Bowl safety Budda Baker who came off injured reserve Wednesday. It's clear the players' effort is there and some players have taken advantage of the opportunity to play important roles and done well. But effort, belief in each other and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis' scheme and good coaching haven't been enough lately.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon said the defense needs to "adjust quicker" after he watched the Los Angeles Rams go from a pass-first game plan in the first half last week to running the ball with a lot of success against the Cardinals in the second half. The Cardinals were shutting down the Rams in the first half on defense, but could hardly stop them after halftime.

It's a refrain that has played out all month in games against the San Francisco 49ers, Cincinnati Bengals and Rams. The Cardinals compete and keep it close until the second half, and in particular the fourth quarter, when for some reason they can't prevent a big play, a key third down conversion or a long drive.

Opponents have outscored Arizona 64-7 in the fourth quarter this season.

"We've gotta obviously, in the second half, have a better plan, execute better, all of the above. It's usually a kind of multiple factors that maybe contributed to not playing good run defense in the second half," Rallis said of the Rams game. "So whether or not they abandoned their plan, or that was their plan all along, that's hard to know. But we gotta do a better job as coaches adjusting to that. And then going out and executing what we adjust within the game."

Two things that came out of last week's game defensively were the Cardinals yet again struggling to stop an opponent's best wide receiver (Brandon Aiyuk three weeks ago, Ja'Marr Chase two weeks ago and Cooper Kupp last week) and the idea of not being able to match the other team's physicality.

Rallis was asked about that this week. He said he'd like to see more in the way of resiliency from his defense.

"Teams are going to try to get the ball to their best player for sure, and that's going to be a huge part of their plan to win the game. That's got to be corrected in multiple ways," Rallis said. "It starts with me, with myself and my staff, to put together a plan to help take away those players. And then kind of the next step of it is executing that plan or, when they do find those one-on-one situations, winning at the point of attack occasionally. So a combination of everything there, but definitely I'm with JG (Gannon), you don't want their best players to affect the game and take over the game."

This week, the Seattle Seahawks will test the Cardinals' defense, which could get Baker back. Quarterback Geno Smith has been up and down but is a threat to run, and has two quality receivers to throw to in DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett plus a punishing running back with speed in Kenneth Walker III.

"You've got to sustain execution, you've got to be able to possibly adapt how you're calling it, what you're calling," Rallis said. "A lot of different factors can play into that. I think it can be a mistake maybe to try to pinpoint one thing. I think we've got to continue to try to get better at every factor that can play into that and go finish games better."

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Gannon matches wits with longtime Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, who year after year has the Seahawks competing for the postseason. One thing that would certainly be a lift for the Cardinals' defense is forcing turnovers.

"They've got skill guys. They've got a really good back, the quarterback plays at a high level. They don't turn the ball over. You know, that's a credit to Pete and his staff," Gannon said. "They talk about the ball all the time, and that's a winning stat and they do it really well. So we've got to challenge that part of their game."

Cardinals safety K'Von Wallace said better defensive performance in the fourth quarter comes down to keeping the same energy the players have earlier in the game.

"A lot of our energy comes down in the second half, whether they make a play or whatever the case may be," Wallace said. "You've got to keep that edge, keep that the same first half tenacity throughout the whole fourth quarter."

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals seek to finish stronger on defense