Arizona Cardinals 2020 -Regular Season Recap - New England 20

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2020 Reg Season

New England 20 - Cardinals 17

The Lede
The Bottom Line
Game Recap
Game Stats
Bright Spots
The Dark Side
Last Word

The Setup
Pats had a losiing record, but were getting a bunch of guys back from the inactive list. Cards were in the midst of letting a 6 - 3 record slip through its fingers.

Lede
"Folk Hero"

The Bottom Line:
Card let a 10 point 1Q lead slip away but managed to come back late in the 4Q to tie the game only to have their kicker (Zane Gonzalez miss wide right from from 45 yds with 1:47 left to leavie enough time for NE kicker (Nick Folk) to boot home the winner from 50-yds as the clock ran out. The Cards continued to be the epitome of consistency (i.e. consistently penalized, continuing a pattern of sloppy play and victims to special teams let-downs. So it should be no surprise that they came up short against a coach known for his football smarts, overachieving players and mistake-free football.

We wish we could say that, if the Cards miss making the playoffs, fans will point to this NE game as the key reason. Oh but if this was so. But truth be told, penalties, sloppy play and special teams letdowns have become part of the personality of this football team.

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter
Ari 2:51 Kenyan Drake 1 run (Zane Gonzalez Kick) AZ 7- NE 0
Ari 13:11 FG Zane Gonzalez 47 AZ 10 - NE 0

2nd Quarter
NE 0:45 James White 7 run (Nick Folk Kick) AZ 10 - NE 7

3rd Quarter
NE 7:14 FG Nick Folk 22 AZ 10 - NE 10
NE 11:30 James White 1 run (Nick Folk Kick) AZ 10 - NE 17

4th Quarter
Ari 6:58 Kenyan Drake 1 run (Zane Gonzalez Kick) AZ 17- NE 17
NE 15:00 FG Nick Folk 50 AZ 17 - NE 20

Notable Game Stats.

First Downs Arizona 23 - NE 16
Passing: Murray 23 for 34 , 170 Yds 2 TD, 1 Int.67.0 Rating
................Newton 9 for 18 84 Yds, 0 TDs, 2 Ints 23.6 Rating
Sacked By: Cards 2- Pats 3

Rushing: Cards 138 - Pats 110.

Receiving: Cards - Hoplins 5 for 55
..................Pats - Meyers 5 for 52..

Tackles - Cards - Hicks 7...Campbell 6...Simmons 6
................Pats - Bentley 13 ....Hall 7

Interceptions By - Cards - 1... Pats 1

Fumbles Lost - Cards 0 of 0 - Patsi 0 of 0

Penalties - Cards 6 for 50...NE - 6 for 42

Time of Possession: Cards 34:08 - NE 35:0

The "Bright Side"

Stepped iu LB play (by Campbell, Golden and Simmons).

Simmons looking more and more like an All Pro.

Card defense played tough in short yardage and in the red zone.

Dre Kirkpatrick's pick put us in position to win the game..

The Dark Side

Penalties and sloppy play cost us a winnable game.
Ironic that Kingsbury passed up 3-points and "went for it" late in the 1H (he didn't make it) but then settled for a 45-yd FG with 1:45 left (and didn't make it). I'm not questioning Kliff/'s play calling, but it seems as if his thinking was out-of-synch with whathe needed from his team
Lack of poise at crunch time can't be tolerated- The late hit by Simmons along the sidelines near the end of the game at the very least made it easier for NE to take charge and emerge the winner.
We let a practice squadder (Moncrief) return a KO 53-yds to change the momentum and set up NE's frst score.
Gonzalez continues the pattern of kicking winners in one game and then breaking your heart the next.
One of the things about a young but developing QB like Kyler Murray is that opposing defenses can do a whiole bunch of weird confusing stuff. It becomes up to the young QB to figure it all out and "adjust to their adjustment." Down 10-points, the NE defense - Instead of chasing Murray - got their hands up and disrupted Murray's passing lanes. Result - a deflected pass and an interception by Adrian Phillips to set up a NE score.

Predictable play calling

Last Word:
Cards have enough athletic talent to make up for sloppy play - but not always and maybe not usually. We're letting a playoff spot slip thru our fingers. ).

At the beginning of the season, we were nervous about the ability of GM Steve Keim and DC Vance Jospeh to restock the defensiive roster with enough talented players. Looks like they've done an admirable job.

But with midseason defeat after crippling defense piling up on us, it seems reasonable to look elsewhere for the reasons. Chief culprits - Sloppy Play. Lack of Poise. Questionable Down and Distance Judgement. Untimely Penalties.

On any team at any time, these shortcomings logically wind up on the front-step of the HC. Now Coach Kingsbury is a bright guy, but there are more and more times this season when, instead of being the "outsmarter", he turns out to be the "outsmartee."

Fortunately, most smart guys can (& do) learn from their mistakes. We hope to see Coach Kingsbury become a wylier, more resourceful HC.

Suddenly at this point in the season, the downhill course has become an uphill slog. But there's still hope.

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