NFL teams
Josh Weinfuss, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

Cardinals' Steve Wilks 'majorly' concerned by troubles on offense

NFL, Arizona Cardinals

MINNEAPOLIS -- Cardinals coach Steve Wilks is past being worried about his struggling offense.

Arizona has yet to gain 300 yards in a game this season, topping out at 269 in a 27-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, which dropped them to 1-5.

"Am I concerned? Majorly," he said after the game. "We need to correct it. We need to find ways to get into the end zone and we need to get it corrected soon."

This week may not be the one when Arizona fixes its offense issues. The Cardinals host the Denver Broncos on Thursday night. That means the Cardinals' offensive woes will be broadcast on national TV. And falling short of 300 yards in a game is just one of many problems.

The Cardinals are ranked last in the league in yards, first downs, third-down conversions, third-down conversion percentage and time of possession, among other categories, while sitting second-to-last in points scored.

Arizona rushed for just 61 yards on Sunday, giving the team 384 yards rushing through the first six weeks of the season, the fewest in the NFL. That's also the fewest for the Cardinals since 2009, when they had 288 by Week 6 and 360 through their first six games. The Cardinals are also last in the NFL in rushing yards gained before first contact.

The Cardinals also went 0-for-10 on third down, which Wilks described as "definitely not good enough."

As to why Arizona's offensive problems are repeating themselves every game, Wilks said it's a good question.

"We have to find answers," Wilks said. "Again, I would tell you execution. I thought we did some good things early on to move the pocket and give (quarterback) Josh (Rosen) an opportunity to get outside and still see the field and make some throws.

"We need to protect better, number one, and do a better job in the pocket. And we have to create some movement in the run game."

One solution could be implementing more no-huddle packages in the offense.

The Cardinals went no-huddle when it scored its final touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter. Rosen said he enjoys the no-huddle and is "very" familiar with it after running it at UCLA for three years.

Wilks said it's on the table.

"Right now we need to look at all options and what we need to do to get this offense moving efficiently," he said.

Another issue for the Cardinals has been scoring in the third quarter -- which they haven't done yet this season. They're the only team not to have scored in the third, with Washington close behind with just a field goal thus far.

"That needs to change," Wilks said. "We need to do a much better job coming out of the locker room and try to get in the end zone."

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