Lions CB Brian Branch fined for hit on Cardinals TE Trey McBride

A look at the fines levied against the Lions players in their win over the Cardinals. No Cardinals players were fined.

The Arizona Cardinals knew they were in for a particularly physical game when they played the Detroit Lions last Sunday.

Prior to the game, safety Budda Baker referred to the Lions as “a very violent team” and predicted it would be a “dogfight.”

There were numerous players from both teams injured in the game and it turns out that after review, the NFL levied four fines on Detroit players in the game, including two on cornerback Brian Branch. One was for the use of his helmet in the collision with tight end Trey McBride in the fourth quarter that resulted in McBride entering the concussion protocol and causing him to miss this week’s game against the Washington Commanders.

Meanwhile, Branch was limited in Detroit’s Thursday practice because of a concussion, but had full participation Friday and Saturday and has no game status for the Lions’ Monday night game against the Seattle Seahawks. McBride did not participate in any of the Cardinals’ three practices this week.

There was no penalty flagged on the play, nor was there one called on two of the other plays deemed deserving of fines. All told, the four fines totaled $39,016.

No Cardinals were fined.

Here is a review of the fines and the circumstances of the plays:

Branch: $10,128

Unnecessary roughness for striking/kicking/kneeing on kicker Matt Prater’s 42-yard field goal, a play that began with two seconds remaining in the first half. Branch rushed from the right side of Detroit’s field-goal defense and made contact with who appeared to be rookie Tip Reiman. However, watching the replay, the camera went away and what happened after the initial contact could not be seen, but the league obviously saw something that caused the fine.

Branch: $10,128 (again)

Unnecessary roughness for use of the helmet on the McBride play that began at the Cardinals 20-yard line with 6:06 remaining in the fourth quarter.

LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin: $11,255

Unnecessary roughness for a late hit on a 9-yard pass play from quarterback Kyler Murray to wide receiver Michael Wilson that began at the Arizona 30-yard line with 29 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Reeves-Maybin was penalized 15 yards on the play for hitting Wilson after he was tackled by Branch and linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez.

S Kerby Joseph: $7,505

Unnecessary roughness for a hit on a defenseless player on a 14-yard pass play from Murray to wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. that began with 9:19 remaining in the fourth quarter. Joseph was credited with an assisted tackle on the play, although it was cornerback Terrion Arnold that had Harrison on the way down when he was struck by Joseph.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Sub scribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

Another opponent wins player of the week honors after facing Cardinals

He had four punts against the Cardinals downed inside the 20, three of which were downed inside the 10.

For the second time in three games, an Arizona Cardinals opponent has earned conference player of the week honors after playing them. Buffalo Bills defensive end Greg Rousseau was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week after he had three sacks against Arizona in Week 1.

It has happened again.

Detroit Lions punter Jack Fox was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his play against the Cardinals in Week 2.

The Lions beat the Cardinals 20-13 at State Farm Stadium on Sunday. Fox punted five times and had four of them downed inside the 20-yard line. Three of the four were downed inside the 10. He averaged 49.4 yards per punt. None was returned.

All four punts downed inside the 20 were in the second half and three were in the fourth quarter, keeping the Cardinals behind the field position battle in their attempt to come back.

The Cardinals will also face the reigning NFC Offensive Player of the Week in Week 4. Quarterback Jayden Daniels, whose Washington Commanders face the Cardinals in Week 4, was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Sub scribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

Should we be more disappointed or more encouraged by the loss to the Lions?

Jess Root and Seth Cox talk about the Cardinals’ loss to the Lions in the latest edition of the podcast.

The Arizona Cardinals lost on Sunday to the Detroit Lions 20-13, allowing 20 first-half points and then holding them scoreless in the second half.

It was both frustrating and encouraging.

In this new edition of the podcast, cohost Seth Cox and I go over what didn’t go well for the Cardinals in their loss, what went well and then run down the injuries to think about and whether or not they are something to be concerned about.

Enjoy the show!

Enjoy the show with the embedded player above or by subscribing to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or your favorite podcast platform, so you never miss a show. Make sure as well to give it a five-star rating!

Times and topics:

(1:00) What didn’t go well for the Cardinals in the loss

(21:30) What did go well for the Cardinals

(40:17) Injuries to know about

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Cardinals’ Week 3 defensive, special teams snap counts, observations vs. Lions

A look at how the Cardinals split up their defensive snap and who played on special teams on Sunday against the Lions.

In the Arizona Cardinals’ 20-13 loss to the Detroit Lions, 21 players participated in at least one of the 68 defensive snaps and 36 played at least one of the 23 special teams snaps.

The first number after each name is snaps and the second is the percentage. Players in bold were starters.

Arizona Cardinals Week 3 defensive, special teams snap counts

Defensive linemen

Bilal Nichols 42/62, Roy Lopez 41/60, L.J. Collier 33/49, Dante Stills 30/44, Justin Jones 22/32, Khyiris Tonga 14/21

Injured reserve: Darius Robinson (eligible to return)

The triceps injury suffered by Jones affected the rotation in the line. He had played 67 percent of the snaps against the Rams, while Lopez played 42, Nichols 40 and Collier 38. Those players had their snaps ratcheted up along with Stills, who had been inactive against the Rams. It was precipitous that Stills was active. He had six tackles (two solo) with one for loss and added a sack.

Tonga had four tackles (one solo), but suffered a knee injury late in the third quarter. Nichols and Lopez each had three tackles and Collier two. Nichols had two solo with one for loss, while Lopez had one solo.

Linebackers

ILB Kyzir White 68/100, ILB Mack Wilson Sr. 59/87, OLB Zaven Collins 37/54, OLB Dennis Gardeck 32/47, OLB Julian Okwara 26/38, OLB Xavier Thomas 13/19, ILB Krys Barnes 8/12, ILB Owen Pappoe 8/12

Inactive: OLB Jesse Luketa, OLB Victor Dimukeje

Injured reserve: BJ Ojulari

White led the defense with 10 tackles although there was only one solo. Wilson has been a dynamo and had eight tackles (three solo, one for loss), plus a sack and quarterback hit. Collins registered four tackles (three solo, one for loss). Gardeck, who had three sacks against the Rams, had four tackles (two solo, one for loss), while adding an interception and pass defensed.

With Dimukeje inactive, Okwara saw his snaps increase from 29 percent against the Rams to 39 Sunday.

Defensive backs

S Jalen Thompson 68/100, CB Sean Murphy-Bunting 68/100, S Budda Baker 66/97, CB Star Thomas V 55/81, CB Garrett Williams 42/62, CB Max Melton 13/19, S Dadrion (Rabbit) Taylor-Demerson 2/3

Did not play: CB Kei’Trel Clark, S Joey Blount (both played only on special teams)

Inactive: S Darren Hall

Injured reserve: CB Elijah Jones (eligible to return)

Thompson had nine tackles (three solo, one for loss) and Baker had seven (four solo). Baker missed two snaps in the second quarter with an unannounced injury. Murphy-Bunting had seven tackles (three solo), while Thomas had three (two solo) and Melton added one solo. None of the defensive backs had a pass defensed.

Special teams

LB Krys Barnes 19/83, LB Owen Pappoe 19/83, WR Zach Pascal 16/70, RB/RS DeeJay Dallas 16/70, S Joey Blount 16/70, CB Max Melton 15/65, S Dadrion (Rabbit) Taylor-Demerson 14/61, TE Elijah Higgins 13/57, LB Dennis Gardeck 13/57, TE Tip Reiman 12/52, LB Julian Okwara 10/43, P Blake Gillikin 8/35, LS Aaron Brewer 8/35, CB Kei’Trel Clark 7/30, K Matt Prater 6/26, WR/RS Greg Dortch 5/22, LB Mack Wilson Sr. 5/22, RB Emari Demercado 4/17, DL Roy Lopez 4/17, DL Bilal Nichols 4/17, S Budda Baker 4/17, CB Sean Murphy-Bunting 4/17, T Paris Johnson Jr. 3/13, G Evan Brown 3/13, C Hjalte Froholdt 3/13, G Isaiah Adams 3/13, C/G Trystan Colon 3/13, DL Dante Stills 3/13, CB Garrett Williams 3/13, T Jackson Barton 2/9, TE Trey McBride 2/9, CB Star Thomas V 2/9, G Will Hernandez 1/4, DL L.J. Collier 1/4, LB Dennis Gardeck 1/4, LB Kyzir White 1/4, LB Zaven Collins 1/4

Prater had field goals of 42 and 45 yards plus three touchbacks on kickoffs. Gillikin averaged 52.0 yards on five punts with a net of 44.0. Dortch had two fair catches on punt returns and let one bounce at around the 14-yard line that was downed at the 2.

Pappoe had two special-teams tackles (one solo), while Melton and Dallas had one solo. Dallas had no kickoff returns as Lions kicker Jake Bates had four touchbacks.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Sub scribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

Cardinals’ Week 3 offensive snap counts, observations vs. Lions

A look at how the Cardinals split up their offensive snaps against the Lions.

In the Arizona Cardinals’ 20-13 loss to the Detroit Lions, 18 players participated in at least one of the 59 offensive snaps.

The first number after each name is snaps and the second is the percentage. Players in bold were starters.

Arizona Cardinals Week 3 offensive snap counts

Quarterbacks

Kyler Murray 59/100

Did not play: Clayton Tune

What a difference a week makes. After compiling a 158.3 passer rating (170.6 according to BAPR/Balzer Adjusted Passer Rating) against the Rams and being 5-for-5 for 79 yards and a touchdown on third down, Murray came back to earth. His passer rating was 76.5 and he had his first interception of the season on a jump ball that was thrown short of Marvin Harrison Jr.

On third down, where the Cardinals were 1-for-9 in the game, Murray completed 3-of-7 passes for 21 yards and 13 came on a late-game, 13-yard pass to Greg Dortch on third-and-17. In the fourth quarter, with the ground game grounded, there were no running plays and he was 11-for-17 for 119 yards.

Murray rushed five times for 45 yards with a 21-yard scamper, but in the second half he had only eight yards on two carries and came up short on a crucial fourth-and-1.

Running backs

James Conner 44/75, Emari Demercado 12/20, Trey Benson 2/3

Did not play: DeeJay Dallas (played only on special teams)

There wasn’t much room for the runners and that affected the overall offense. Conner was 9-for-17 with a long of seven, while Benson was 2-8 with a long of six and Demercado was 2-7, also with a long of six. The two runs for Benson were his only snaps in the game.

In the passing game, Murray rarely looked for the backs with Conner catching his one target for eight yards.

Wide receivers

Marvin Harrison Jr. 52/88, Michael Wilson 53/90, Greg Dortch 39/66, Chris Moore 3/5, Zach Pascal 1/2

Inactive: Xavier Weaver

Suspended: Zay Jones

Harrison (11) and Wilson (9) accounted for 20 of Murray’s targets. Each had 64 yards with Wilson grabbing eight and Harrison five with a 10-yard touchdown. Wilson’s 28-yard play was the only one by a pass-catcher for 20 yards or more. Dortch caught three of his six targets for 35 yards.

Tight ends

Trey McBride 50/85, Tip Reiman 20/34, Elijah Higgins 19/32

Inactive: Travis Vokolek

McBride caught three of his six targets for only 25 yards with a long of nine. He left the game in the fourth quarter and entered the concussion protocol. Higgins had one reception for 11 yards. Reiman’s role on his 20 snaps was as a blocker.

Offensive linemen

LT Paris Johnson Jr. 59/100, LG Evan Brown 59/100, C Hjalte Froholdt 59/100, RG Will Hernandez 59/100, RT Jackson Barton 48/81, T Charlie Heck 11/19

Did not play: G Isaiah Adams, C Trystan Colon 6/9 (both played only on special teams)

Inactive: T Kelvin Beachum, G/C Jon Gaines II

Injured reserve: T Jonah Williams (eligible to return), T Christian Jones (eligible to return), T Carter O’Donnell

With Beachum inactive because of a hamstring injury suffered in practice, Barton made the first start of his career after playing a total of 13 snaps since entering the league as a seventh-round pick by the Colts in 2019. Six of those snaps came in late-game duty the week before against the Rams.

He held up well, when most likely expected him to be dominated by Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, although he was provided help. Unfortunately, he left the game in the fourth quarter with a toe injury and was replaced by Heck, who played the final 11 snaps. Both Barton and Heck were elevated from the practice squad for the game. Heck was signed to the group on Sept. 11.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Sub scribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

Cardinals-Lions postgame reactions: Surprises, 3rd-down struggles, running game

Howard Balzer gives his thoughts on the Cardinals’ loss in the latest edition of the podcast.

The Arizona Cardinals fell to the Detroit Lions at home on Sunday 20-13. It was a disappointing but not surprising outcome.

Around the NFL, there were a number of wins by teams who were not expected to. In this edition of the podcast, Howard Balzer explains why we shouldn’t ever be surprised by anything in the NFL.

He also dives into the Cardinals’ loss and talks about two key areas that led to the problems — third downs and the running game.

The Cardinals were great on third down entering Week 3 and went 1-for-9, failing to convert on their final eight attempts.

They also got nothing from the run game from their running backs. He gives the numbers.

Have a listen and enjoy the show!

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Cardinals’ losses have common thread with the run game struggling

The Cardinals struggled to run the ball in their two losses this season and were great in their one win.

The evidence simply slaps anyone in the face with the force of a player’s tackle on a running back: When the Arizona Cardinals run the ball effectively with their backs, they have a better chance of winning than when they don’t.

It’s certainly noticeable this season as the Cardinals are 1-2 with both losses being by one score or less and in games where the ground game was a pittance without explosive plays.

In Week 1, it was a 34-28 loss to the Buffalo Bills, a game in which Cardinals running backs James Conner and Trey Benson combined for 63 yards on 17 attempts. Conner had one run for 20 yards and Benson’s long was six, meaning their other 17 attempts totaled only 37 yards.

Sunday’s 20-13 loss to the Detroit Lions was more of the same. Conner, Benson and Emari Demercado had 13 runs for a mere 32 yards with the longs being seven for Conner and six for both Benson and Demercado. Incredibly, the other 10 attempts totaled 13 yards.

By contrast, Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs had one run for 18 yards and two for 14, while David Montgomery had 14- and 16-yard runs among their 39 rushes for 188 yards. Those five explosive plays gained 76 yards.

Meanwhile, in the 41-10 victory over the Rams in Week 2 Conner had 21 carries for 122 yards with four runs totaling 61. He had runs of 13 and 16 yards in the first touchdown drive of the game and later added gains of 10 and 22 yards. Even Demercado had a 41-yard run late in the game.

“I know the run game on offense didn’t get quite going,” head coach Jonathan Gannon obviously acknowledged. “We have to do better in the run game. It’s just that we never got that one explosive. We knew it was going to be dirty (with) two, three yards, but you’re kind of waiting for that one to pop.”

Conner had runs of 1, 2, 3, and minus-1 in the first half for a total of eight yards on five runs and then 4, 7, 1 and minus-3 in the second half for nine yards on four attempts.

That loss of three came late in the third quarter and no running back carried the ball in the fourth quarter when quarterback Kyler Murray was 11-for-17 for 119 yards, including a 28-yard play to wide receiver Michael Wilson. The other 10 completions totaled 91 yards.

“That’s a good defense,” Murray concluded. “They’re stout up front. It was tough for us to get the run game going.”

It left the Cardinals with a 2-7 record in one-score games, dating back to the beginning of the 2023 season.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Sub scribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

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Third down brutal for Cardinals in loss to Lions

The Cardinals went only 1-for-9 on third down against the Lions.

The Arizona Cardinals entered Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions ranked first in the NFL converting 58.3% of their third downs (14-for-24).

Quarterback Kyler Murray was 11-for-11 (now that’s “perfect”) in the first two games and he led the league in that category with a 158.3 passer rating, which would be 200.6 using the BAPR (Balzer Adjuster Passer Rating).

Sunday wasn’t anything close.

They converted their first third down of the game on a third-and-5 pass to wide receiver Michael Wilson on third-and-2 and scored a touchdown later in the drive to tie the game, 7-7. After that, the Cardinals were stoned, failing on all eight of their third-down ties.

As Murray said of the 1-for-9 effort that plummets their season percentage to 45.5, “That’s not good. That’s not how you beat a playoff team and win those types of games.”

For the game, Murray was 3-for-7 for 21 yards on third down for a passer rating of 50.3 that is that “high” because he didn’t have an interception. Had he had one within those seven attempts, his rating would have been 10.8.

Of the 21 yards, 13 came on a fourth-quarter completion to wide receiver Greg Dortch on third-and-17 that led to a Matt Prater 45-yard field goal. He was 1-for-3 on third down in the fourth quarter when they had no running plays.

Four third-down attempts had nine yards to go or more, so many were manageable.

Here is an accounting of the misses in order:

Third-and-4 from AZ 36: Pass to Wilson for 3
Third-and-2 from AZ 30: Incomplete to Marvin Harrison Jr.
Third-and-9 from AZ 3: Murray run for 8 after James Conner 1-yard run and incomplete pass
Third-and-2 from DET 25: Emari Demercado 1-yard run
Third-and-13 from AZ 32: Incomplete pass to Dortch after incomplete pass and Conner run for minus-3
Third-and-6 from AZ 48: Incomplete pass to Harrison
Third-and-10 from AZ 28: Incomplete pass to Wilson after two incomplete passes
Third-and-17 from DET 39: Pass to Dortch for 13 after sack for minus-7 and incomplete pass.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Sub scribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

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5 observations and takeaways from Cardinals’ defense, special teams vs. the Lions

A look at the defensive side of the ball and special teams for the Cardinals in their loss to the Lions.

The Arizona Cardinals lost on Sunday to the Detroit Lions 20-13. They fell behind 20-7 and then didn’t allow a point in the second half, although it wasn’t enough.

We looked at what happened offensively.

What did we see defensively and on special teams?

A TD taken away

With the clock moving toward the two-minute warning at the end of the first half, and the Lions facing third-and-12 from midfield, quarterback Jared Goff dropped back and was hit by safety Jalen Thompson and linebacker Owen Pappoe as he was attempting to pass.

The ball deflected into the air, where linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. caught it at the 44-yard line and appeared to score a touchdown that would have tied the game at 13, pending the extra point.

However, the officials ruled the two-minute warning was reached before the snap, so there was no play.

What followed was Jahmyr Gibbs gashing the defense for a 14-yard gain and a first down and two plays later, Goff threw a short 1-yard pass to wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown who lateraled to Gibbs and he ran the final 20 yards for a touchdown. Suddenly, the Lions led 20-7 with 29 seconds remaining.

When head coach Jonathan Gannon was asked about a possible letdown by the defense, he said, “Anytime you score (I’m not going to take the bait on that), like yeah, but with saying that, our guys are psychologically trained (one his five buckets); that’s an uncontrollable for us. So what we can control is, let’s play defense and they hit us with that well-designed play there.

“But I thought when we came in at halftime, no one was down. Everyone was, ‘OK, here’s what we need to do.’ I thought the defense played extremely well in the second half to give ourselves a chance to get back in the game.”

About that second half

After two quarters, the Lions had rolled up 240 yards and averaged 7.1 yards per play. Goff was 12-for-12 for 137 yards and a 153.8 passer rating.

However, they scored no points in the final two quarters and had only 133 yards (3.9 per play). That was in large part because Goff was 6-for-11 for 62 yards and an interception, dropping his game rating to 113.6.

Of course, he connected with St. Brown for an 18-yard gain on third-and-12 from their own 28 on a play that began with 2:20 remaining in the game. That ended any chance the Cardinals had of getting the ball back.

Ransacked by the run

The Cardinals had few answers for running backs Gibbs and David Montgomery. On the first possession of the game, the Lions took a 7-0 lead on a 70-yard drive during which Montgomery rushed six times for 39 yards and scored on a 1-yard run.

For the game, he and Gibbs accounted for 225 scrimmage yards on 42 touches. They combined for 188 yards rushing on 39 attempts. Montgomery got numerous extra yards after being stopped, but the scrum kept him moving.

Individual standouts

Linebacker Kyzir White led the way with 10 tackles, but only one solo. Safety Jalen Thompson had six solos among his nine tackles. Wilson had eight tackles (three solo) with one for loss and a sack. Linebacker Dennis Gardeck had an interception, a pass defensed and four tackles (two solo) with one for loss.

Linebacker Budda Baker was his usual self with seven tackles (four solo). He left the game briefly in the second quarter with an unannounced injury, but returned on the next possession. Defensive lineman Dante Stills, who was inactive last week, had a sack to go with six tackles (two solo) and one for loss.

Gannon said of Stills, “Week 2 was in the past and he knew he was going to maximize his opportunities. I thought he played well.”

What “dynamic” kickoff return?

It seems about time that everyone stops referring to the new kickoff rule as “dynamic.” There were no returns in the game as Cardinals kicker Matt Prater had three touchbacks and Detroit’s Jake Bates four. Prater was successful on field goals of 42 and 45 yards. Punter Blake Gillikin punted five times for a 52.0 average and 44.0 net.

Greg Dortch allowed a punt to bounce at around the 14-yard line rather than move to catch it and the ball was downed at the 2. On another possession, the Cardinals were forced to start at the 10 after Kei’Trel Clark was penalized 10 yards for an illegal block out of bounds.

In the fourth quarter, the Cardinals started possessions at the 12-, 9- and 7-yard lines following two Dortch fair catches and a downed punt.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Sub scribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

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NFL officials explain game-changing nullified pick-6 for Cardinals

While it looked to fans the Cardinals should have had a pick-six, NFL officials defended blowing the play dead.

The Arizona Cardinals’ most exciting play of the afternoon in their 20-13 loss to the Detroit Lions never technically happened. The Cardinals appeared to force a bad throw by Lions quarterback Jared Goff that was picked off by linebacker Mack Wilson and returned for a touchdown, which would have given the Cardinals a 14-13 lead with under two minutes remaining in the first half.

However, the officials blew the play dead, saying it reached the two-minute warning before the play started.

It looked liked the Cardinals were hosed.

https://twitter.com/SamMonsonNFL/status/1837969010471641524?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1837969010471641524%7Ctwgr%5Eea100965b644e2664c5039b5a828fb28408e6ac8%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Fnfl%2Fcardinals%2Fnews%2Freferees-defend-game-changing-missed-call-arizona-cardinals-game

Instead of a 14-13 Cardinals lead, the Lions scored on that possession to make it 20-7.

The Lions went on to win 20-13.

Referee Brad Rogers was asked about the non-play after the game by pool reporter Josh Weinfuss.

Here is what Rogers explained:

Question: Just a few questions about the play right at the two-minute warning of the first half. What happened leading into that two-minute warning when the call was played dead?

Rogers: Mechanically, we have an official that is watching the clock and what he had was a ruling was the clock was at two minutes and then the ball was snapped. So, by rule when the clock is at two minutes, it is then dead. We’re not going to let a play get off. We started killing the play by blowing whistles. I know the play started, but when we start blowing the whistle, it shuts it down. So some of the players were still going because they couldn’t hear our whistles apparently — so it looks like there’s part of the action that’s still moving and some of the action is stopping. So, when we start blowing our whistles, it shuts the play down completely.

Question: Can you expand on the mechanics of that a little more? Who’s watching the clock in that situation? And I guess the follow-up to that is, how does that differ from a play-clock situation when we see the clock going to zero, often times, the ball still gets snapped?

Rogers: What we want to do on the game clock is be 100% (accurate). When it shows two minutes, we stop it. When it shows zero, we stop it. And in respect to what we’re doing her mechanically, the side judge is the one responsible for the clock. So physically looking at that and communicating a countdown and letting us know whenever it hits two minutes. When he says, ‘two minutes,” we shut ut down because we have to also see the ball and hear when the clock is at zero or at two.

That explanation probably won’t help Cardinals fans feel better about the play.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon’s only reaction to what happened was, “they call what they call,” which makes sense because if he suggested criticism, he could get fined by the league.

The officials say it hit two minutes before the snap. To fans, it looked like the snap came with time left.

It ended up being a critical moment that was game-changing. But as for a big play, all it was is a play that never happened.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Sub scribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.