49ers vs. Cardinals: San Francisco hosts Arizona in must-win game
By Chris Wilson
Cardinals QB Josh Rosen
The Arizona Cardinals drafted UCLA’s star QB Josh Rosen with the 10th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. The rookie spent the first two games of this season on the sideline, before he was thrown into action in the closing minutes of Week 3, with the Cardinals trailing the Chicago Bears by two points.
Unfortunately, Rosen was a disaster in his first NFL game, as the rookie’s first drive ended in an interception, with the Cardinals just outside of field-goal range. After a stop by Arizona’s defense, Rosen promptly threw a pick-six, and after the play was negated by an offsides penalty, Rosen was sacked two plays later to end the game.
Still, Rosen was given the starting nod for the Cardinals’ Week 4 matchup with the rival Seahawks. After a week of practice with the first-team offense, Rosen’s play vastly improved in his first NFL start. While the Cardinals played conservatively for the majority of the game, they did put the ball into their quarterback’s hands when they needed two late-game scores.
Rosen responded with a quick touchdown drive, and then drove the Arizona offense down the field for a potential game-winning field goal — which Dawson missed. Although the Cardinals were unable to finish off the Seahawks in Week 4, Rosen showed Arizona’s coaching staff and fans the promise he lacked against the Bears.
| Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Rush | Rush | Rush | Rush | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G# | Opp | Result | GS | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | Int | Rate | Sk | Yds | Y/A | AY/A | Att | Yds | Y/A | TD |
| 3 | CHI | L 14-16 | 4 | 7 | 57.14 | 36 | 0 | 1 | 31.5 | 1 | 7 | 5.14 | -1.29 | 1 | 12 | 12.00 | 0 | |
| 4 | SEA | L 17-20 | * | 15 | 27 | 55.56 | 180 | 1 | 0 | 88.5 | 1 | 9 | 6.67 | 7.41 | 2 | 13 | 6.50 | 0 |
| 0-2 | Â | 19 | 34 | 55.88 | 216 | 1 | 1 | 72.7 | 2 | 16 | 6.35 | 5.62 | 3 | 25 | 8.33 | 0 |
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
The game certainly slowed down for Rosen in his first NFL start. Given that the Cardinals have a number of playmakers on offense — from star running back Johnson to future Hall-of-Fame wideout Fitzgerald to rookie wide receiver Christian Kirk — Arizona is too talented to have scored a league-low 37 points in their first four games. If Rosen proves to be a competent quarterback this season — paired with Arizona’s respectable defense — the Cardinals will win their fair share games in 2018.
For more information on Rosen, check out Niner Noise’s in-depth breakdown of the Cardinals’ starting QB.