The Arizona Cardinals looked great offensively in the first half of their 34-28 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. They gained 190 yards and had a 17-10 lead at halftime.
However, they only finished with 270 total yards. Most would consider that bad.
However, it wasn’t as bad as you might think.
In Week 1, including the Cardinals, 13 teams had 270 or fewer yards of offense. Their 270 yards were more than 11 teams. Their 20 points scored on offense (eight of their 20 came on DeeJay Dallas’ kickoff return for a touchdown and the ensuing two-point conversion) were more than all but one of the teams that matched or had fewer yards. Only the Dallas Cowboys, who scored 26 offensive points on 265 yards of offense, scored more. The other seven Dallas points came from a punt return touchdown.
Chicago had the lowest offensive output in Week 1 with 148 yards but had 24 points in a win, but they scored a special teams touchdown and a defensive touchdown. The offense produced only nine points.
So while the 270 yards were perhaps a little worrisome in isolation, especially considering they only gained 80 in the second half, comparatively, they weren’t bad.
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