The Arizona Cardinals find themselves currently on a two-game losing streak and have lost three of four games. If it weren’t for the Hail Murray against the Buffalo Bills, they would be mired in a four-game losing streak.
After losing to the New England Patriots on Sunday 20-17, they have fallen again in Touchdown Wire’s new power rankings.
After dropping to No. 14 after their loss to the Seattle Seahawks, they fell another slot to No. 15 in Mark Schofield’s new rankings.
This was a gut-punch loss for the Arizona Cardinals.
Their afternoon in Foxboro, Massachusetts could not have gotten out to a better start. They deferred after winning the coin toss and let the New England Patriots offense get first crack at possession. On a 3rd and 6 situation they blitzed Cam Newton and got home, impacting the throw which was intercepted.
They scored in three plays to take an early 7-0 lead.
Then when the Patriots stalled and punted on their second possession, the Cardinals marched into field goal range after starting on their own three-yard line, and settled for a field goal. Still, it was an impressive drive and they now had a ten-point lead.
This game perhaps turned on the final play of the first half. The Cardinals faced a 4th and goal inside the one with a 10-7 lead. Remember, they would be getting the second half kickoff. Kliff Kingsbury kept his offense on the field envisioning a potential 14-point swing with the double dip. But running back Kenyan Drake was stopped short of the end zone, and the Patriots defense held.
In the second half, the Patriots scored the next 14 points to get out to a 17-10 lead. But the Cardinals still had chances to win, especially after picking off Newton late in the fourth quarter. However, Zane Gonzalez pushed a field goal wide to the right that would have given the Cardinals a three-point lead late, and then the Patriots were able to win on the game’s final play with a field goal of their own. That was enabled by Isaiah Simmons hitting Newton helmet-to-helmet, giving the Patriots 15 free yards.
After climbing to the top of the NFC West with Seattle and the Rams, the Cardinals have now lost two straight games. What might be most worrisome is how their offense looked on Sunday, as they were not in sync for most of the contest. They’ll need to get back on track — and in a hurry — if they’re going to make the playoffs.
Their last two games are cause for concern. After consistently putting up over 30 points, they have managed only 38 combined in the last two. Kyler Murray has not been running the ball well and only DeAndre Hopkins is producing in the passing game.
Their Week 13 matchup against the L.A. Rams is critical this weekend. A win will put them at 7-5 with two games in a row against abysmal NFC East teams. That should get them to nine wins with two games left and the inside track to making the postseason.
[vertical-gallery id=446436]
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
Latest show:
Previous shows:
and