On Thursday Night Football, under the primetime lights for the first team this season, the Arizona Cardinals finally lost. Against Aaron Rodgers and an understaffed Green Bay Packers, Arizona’s defense was ineffective and failed to contain either the run or passing game. Arizona’s offense kept them in it right until the end, but inconsistencies ruptured the performance for the Cardinals, and the team saw their perfect record slip away in a narrow loss.
The Cardinals finally lost, but they are still a good football team. A future Hall of Fame quarterback beat them, and there is no shame in that. Yet there were some things very clearly wrong with Arizona’s performance on Thursday night, and there are some issues that have to be rectified if the Cardinals are to retain their spot atop the league standings going forward.
Arizona Cardinals Suffer Narrow Loss Thursday Night
Not Good Enough on Defense
Heading into the game, the news of Davante Adams’ absence saw the Cardinals jump out to a six-point favorite. The Packers missing their top three receivers suggested it would be a run-heavy game plan versus the Cardinals. Apparently, everyone seemed to forget that Aaron Rodgers is a bad, bad man. Rodgers might have had only 184 passing yards, but two touchdown tosses highlighted his efficiency against a lackluster Cardinals defense.
Yes, this Cardinals defense underperformed Thursday night, but they are still one of the NFL’s best units. On the back end, corners Byron Murphy and Marco Wilson, the backbone of Arizona’s pass defense, had notably ineffective games. Murphy, in particular, the team’s best corner, was beaten twice in the endzone by elder statesman Randall Cobb for scores. Rodgers is that good, but the Cardinals have come to expect better from their bright young stars.
The run game expectedly played a huge role in the loss, not least because the Cardinals simply could not stop the Packers on the ground. It is not a coincidence that Arizona’s first game without perennial run-stuffer J.J. Watt was one of their worst performances against the run this season; between the pair, Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon had 137 yards rushing. Jones’ role in the screen game made him Rodgers’ top target in the game. Using a conventional run game in tandem with a deadly screen game, the Packers steamrolled the Cardinals on the ground.
Cardinals Offense Nearly Good Enough
The Packers played an excellent offensive game, and the Cardinals still only lost the game by three points. It is all too easy, especially immediately after the loss, to ignore the fact that Kyler Murray and Arizona’s offense actually had a good game. Murray spread the ball around a ton; six receivers recorded at least three receptions, and four of them had over 40 yards receiving on the day. Even fringe player Antoine Wesley managed to get a ball. Murray was dealing Thursday night.
Murray did throw two picks, which looks bad. However, while his early-season interceptions had cause for concern, the two against the Packers simply were not on him. There were juggled balls and miscommunication and Murray just has to trust his guys once that ball was released. The box score was unkind to Murray, his two picks ugly against a goose egg in the touchdown column. But that is not an accurate reflection of his performance. In fact, Murray’s lack of touchdowns is indicative of the effectiveness of Arizona’s run game in the short field; both Chase Edmonds and James Conner notched red zone touchdowns.
Arizona’s offense wasn’t the Harlem Globetrotter experience it has been at times this season, but in a narrow loss, Murray and the rest of the unit played a solid game. An interception and a muffed punt by rookie Rondale Moore may have contributed to Arizona losing the field position battle overall, but the offense gave the Cardinals a chance. Cardinals fans should be encouraged by what was quietly a decent showing on offense.
The Last Drive
Arizona’s defense wasn’t great, but, late in the fourth, they jammed the Packers in the red zone and gave Murray and his guys a chance. The ensuing drive might have actually been the Cardinals best of the game. What should not be forgotten is the fact that the Cardinals final drive encompassed everything that has been good about Arizona’s offense this season. Murray was flinging the ball all around. A.J. Green got some balls, as did Christian Kirk, Edmonds and Moore demonstrated their elusiveness in the open field, and Murray rediscovered the vertical rushing threat that he has moved away from in 2021. Arizona’s offense flew down the field at the end of the game.
The play that ultimately cost Arizona was a bad one. The Cardinals had a really good opportunity to score a go-ahead touchdown. Murray got the matchup he wanted with Green being covered by Rasul Douglas. But Green didn’t look back for the ball, and Douglas picked it off in the endzone. It was a miscommunication, and a big reason the Cardinals lost the game. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury said post-game that they were confident with the ‘safe throw’ to Green, and it just went wrong. It was a bad play from Green, but it is a bad play in a sea of good ones from the supposedly washed receiver, who has been a revelation so far this season.
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The Arizona Cardinals finally lost, but it was not just that one play that gave them their first loss of the season. In reality, the game was lost earlier. The Cardinals did not play to their lofty standards and, somewhat deservedly, lost their perfect record. There were things very, very wrong with Arizona’s performance, particularly on defense, and against the run. These issues have to be corrected quickly if Arizona is to bounce back from this loss. In the absence of Watt, the Cardinals run defense has to improve, especially with the San Francisco 49ers coming up. Yet, the agony of losing their perfect record should not overshadow the good points from the Packers loss, or the achievement of reaching 7-0. Arizona will be fine.
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