The Arizona Cardinals lost 34-20 to the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday afternoon at State Farm Stadium. Quarterback Joe Burrow had a big game, passing for 317 yards and three touchdowns. His best receiver, Ja’Marr Chase, had a huge game.
Chase was targeted 19 times and caught 15 passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns.
Cardinals cornerback Marco Wilson was tasked much of the game with shadowing him and being the primary player in coverage to defend him.
The Cardinals’ game plan didn’t work as Chase had a career-high in catches, the third-highest yardage total in a game in his career and matched his high in touchdowns.
After the game, multiple Cardinals took responsibility for Chase’s performance.
However, the one player who probably should have did not. Wilson did not speak to reporters after the game. With reporters standing behind him waiting for him to change, he got dressed, put on his jewelry and walked out without turning around, saying a word or even looking at them.
Others spoke about the game and took the blame.
Head coach Jonathan Gannon blamed his decision making at the top.
“You can’t let their best player beat you and that’s just what we did,” he said postgame. “That falls solely on me, but we can’t let that happen again.
“Point blank, there’s the game on defense, you let their best player beat you. I’m pissed off about it. It’s my fault and we’ve got to get that cleaned up.”
Gannon was clearly not pleased that the game plan went so poorly, either because of Wilson not playing well enough or him not getting enough help.
Safety K’Von Wallace, who had several big plays in the game, also put some of the blame on himself.
“I personally have to do better and I feel like, if I do better, a lot of those plays that (Chase) had wouldn’t have happened,” he said after the game. “Put it on me.”
It is awesome to see the head coach and teammates willing to lighten the load of blame, as Wilson was tasked with covering one of the most talented receivers in all the NFL.
But for him to skirt addressing his play and Chase’s performance is disappointing.
Gannon preaches accountability. Perhaps Wilson is doing enough to take responsibility in front of the coaches and his teammates. We don’t know that because he ducked out. It would be one thing to sneak out when reporters aren’t around waiting. To overtly do it while people are waiting is a bad look.
Does this mean anything? That all depends on how he handles things with coaches and teammates behind closed doors. What ultimately matters is how accountable he is to them and how he addresses things moving forward.
Had he simply said this — “Guys, I don’t have much to say. We sucked and I didn’t do well enough. I’m disappointed because I expect more out of myself and failed to live up to my own and my coaches’ expectations. He’s a great player but that never should have happened. We’ll get it cleaned up.” — it would have been enough. Instead, it sends a bad message to fans and to those who cover the team.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=663413470]