The Arizona Cardinals were on the road against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Going into the game it was understood that this would be an uphill battle for Arizona. Cardinals’ quarterback Clayton Tune was making the first start of his NFL career. This is a daunting task for any NFL player.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Tune’s task was even more daunting than it already would of been because he was going against Myles Garrett and that Browns defense. Cleveland was only giving up 19.9 points per game going into this game against Arizona. The Cardinals were not able to climb that hill at all. They were dominated from the opening kick to the last second of the game. The Browns won the game, 27-0. Where does the Cardinals’ offensive performance rank among the worst of all-time?
23′ Cardinals vs 79′ Seahawks
On November 4th, 1979 the Seattle Seahawks took on the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams defeated the Seahawks, 24-0. Seattle had a total of -7 yards in that game. Seahawks quarterback Jim Zorn went 2/17 for 25 yards and was sacked six times for a loss of 55 yards.
Seattle ran the ball 12 times for 23 yards. The Rams’ defense dominated the Seahawks offense unlike any other unit in NFL history. The Seahawks were only able to get one first down for the entire game. The Rams defense was good but not great that season. They finished the year with the 11th ranked defense. Los Angeles’ defense put it all together on that day to have the best defensive performance of all-time.
As inept as the Cardinals were against the Browns on Sunday. It was no where near as bad the Seahawks were against the Rams back in 1979. The Cardinals did actually gain 58 yards and get seven first downs. Tune was able to complete 11 passes compared to two for Jim Zorn. The physicality of the NFL game was a lot different back then so is there any offensive performances from this century that compare to what the Cardinals did on Sunday?
23′ Cardinals vs 21′ Bears
On September 26th, 2021 the Chicago Bears took on the Cleveland Browns. The Browns won that game, 26-6. The Bears gained a total of 47 yards in the game. Bears quarterback Justin Fields went 6/20 for 68 yards. He was sacked nine times for 67 yards. So, he passed for a net total of one yard.
Chicago also had lots of trouble running the ball. They ran for 46 yards on 13 carries. Unlike the Cardinals the Bears were able to gain yards with their actual running back. David Montgomery had 10 carries for 34 yards. Most of Arizona’s rushing yards against the Browns on Sunday, came from Clayton Tune scrambles.
As bad as the Bears were on that day, they found a way to score six points with no turnover help from their defense. Arizona was not able to get close to a field goal attempt against the Browns.
There are plenty of bad offensive performances throughout the history of the NFL. The Cardinals’ performance is definitely up there as one of the worst of all-time. They had the advantages of playing in 2023 where the rules of the game are made for offenses to flourish. They were also going against a defense that had given up 38 and 24 points respectively in their last two games. The Browns are a very good defense but not the 2000 Baltimore Ravens or 1985 Chicago Bears.
The Arizona Cardinals offensive unit should be ashamed of their performance. The coaches, quarterback, running backs, and offensive line. Anyone who had anything to do with this putrid display should be held accountable. This will forever be remembered as one of, if not, the worst performance by an offense in NFL history.
