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Decisions, Decisions: Three That Cost The Arizona Cardinals In Week 5

The Cardinals returned to earth in a mistake riddled 34-20 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals. But three decisions showed Arizona is not ready for Prime Time.

The Arizona Cardinals home stadium became a house of horrors in Week 5 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Ill-timed fumbles and an up-and-down performance by Josh Dobbs allowed Arizona to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, 34-20. Momentum has been lost just as it was gained. Here are three decisions that cost the Cardinals.

Three Decisions That Cost the Arizona Cardinals In Week 5

1 – Dobbs Interception for A Pick-6

The Cardinals were nursing a four-point lead (14-10) when Dobbs threw a pick-6 to Cam Taylor for an easy 11-yard touchdown. Dobbs, who had been playing well since Week 2 against New York, made the bad throw with only 1:23 on the second-quarter play clock. The turnover allowed the Bengals to take a 17-14 lead to the locker room.

Dobbs had two interceptions against a Cincinnati team needing a win. Dobbs threw for 166 yards on 15 of 32 pass attempts/completions for the day. He did have two passes resulting in touchdowns. Tight end Zach Ertz caught one TD and veteran receiver Marquise Brown caught the other.

2 – Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

One decision the sideline called was to have Dobbs throw late in the second from his endzone. Instead of running the clock down and punting, a turnover caused a late touchdown providing momentum for the Bengals.

Another was going for it on fourth down, which Arizona did twice. Late in the third, the Cardinals failed on fourth and one. Another was late in the fourth when a pass went through the arms of Hollywood Brown. Either way, one of those poor decisions left potentially three points in the pocket of Jonathan Gannon. The missed pass by Brown was a non-factor. Either way, suspect coaching derailed any momentum the Cardinals were building.

3 – Zach Ertz And Marquise Brown

While both had touchdowns against the Bengals, the long-term question is why keep them in a Cardinals uniform? Touchdowns aside, Arizona has rookies who could see valuable time to evaluate, not to mention the draft picks both could bring to the organization. Again, this boils down to leadership.

The Cardinals depth chart continues to be an issue. While the 2024 NFL Draft cannot get here soon enough, the team can take a long look at who gives them the best chance for success to compete now and definitely win later.

Zach Ertz is a great example from Sunday’s loss to Cincinnati. The tight end had two receptions for a total of 10 yards.

Marquise Brown, who led all Arizona receivers, had four receptions for 61 yards. The downside is that two up-and-comers, Rondale Moore and Michael Wilson, had four targets. Those two should be more involved in the offensive passing attack. With Hollywood all but gone in 2024, no reason exists to have him in a Cardinals uniform getting the bulk of the touches.

Final Analysis

The Cincinnati Bengals got better on Sunday, while the Cardinals, again, had to try to play catch-up in the second half. However, a missed PAT, a foolhardy interception in the shadow of their endzone, and poor passes by Dobbs throttled Arizona. The momentum that was building in the desert is now stifled as they go back on the road this Sunday to play the Rams.

Main Photo: Joe Rondone/The Republic-USA TODAY NETWORK

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