A crazy week in the NFL ends with Cards missing opportunities in loss
One of the most politically charged weeks in NFL history came to a close on Monday night. It divided the country, united the NFL and had Cardinals red with rage. Losing to the Cowboys has that effect on people. “It stings,” Larry Fitzgerald said. “It definitely stings.”
The 2017 home debut was more spectacle than football game. As expected, the Cardinals didn’t protest too loudly. They didn’t take a knee during the national anthem. Players and members of the organi-
downs each time.
The Cardinals, in contrast, had the goal at their heels far too often. They started possessions at their 10-, 7- and 4yard lines.
“Field position was the biggest thing in the game,” Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said. “Offensively, when we were backed up we did a very, very poor job.”
With their offensive problems, the Cardinals (1-2) aren't constructed to travel great distances very often.
Again, they had trouble running the ball. Again, they had trouble protecting quarterback Carson Palmer. Again, the defense looked good for long stretches, only to give up a handful of big plays. Again, kicker Phil Dawson missed a field-goal attempt.
Palmer passed for 325 yards and two touchdowns but he was sacked six times, including four in the second half.
“We had guys open and at times we couldn't get them because we couldn't throw the ball,” Arians said. “When we allowed him to throw it, he was money.”
The Cardinals started backups on the left side of the offensive line, but again, it appeared the right side, guard Evan Boehm and tackle Jared Veldheer, played worse.
Asked how pass protection could improve, Arians replied: “Block better.” With the current starters? “Ain't nobody else (to put) in there. We only got seven guys healthy, so they're the only ones who could play.”
The Cardinals looked good on offense at times. They scored on their first possession, and receiver Larry Fitzgerald did Larry Fitzgerald stuff in the second half. But it wasn’t enough to overcome the Cowboys (2-1), who did less self-damage than did the Cardinals.
Fitzgerald caught 13 passes, a career high, for 149 yards and a touchdown. The miraculous plays by Fitzgerald made a difference, but not enough.
“Demoralizing,” Fitzgerald called the loss.
The Cardinals should have led 10-0 in the second quarter, but Dawson missed a 36-yard attempt, his third miss this season. He missed just three in each of the past two seasons.
“We hope that's true this year,” said Dawson, in his 19th season. “I think I've been around long enough to know what's expected of me, and I've been around long enough to know I need to fix it.”
Fitzgerald's been around a while too, 14 years in the NFL, and showed Monday night this axiom is still true: When in trouble, go to Fitz.
The Cardinals did that when trailing 14-7 midway through the fourth quarter. On first down, Palmer threw to Fitzgerald for 37 yards. Two plays later, he found Fitzgerald on a beautiful corner route for a 15-yard touchdown.
That tied the game at 14 and brought the crowd to life with chants of “Lar-ry, Lar-ry.”
The happiness didn’t last long. For the third time in the game, the Cowboys took advantage of favorable field position, starting at the 40. Quarterback Dak Prescott gave them back the lead when he sprinted right and hit receiver Brice Butler with a 37-yard touchdown pass.
That put the Cowboys ahead 21-14 with 11:52 left.
“Football is adversity,” Cardinals safety Tyvon Branch said. “Wherever the ball is rolled out there, you've got to go out there and play. Sometimes the offense gets put in bad situations. Sometimes the defense gets put in bad situations.”
A field goal by the Cardinals closed the gap to four with 6:35 left.
The Cowboys, however, closed the game out in the final seven minutes. Butler beat safety Tyrann Mathieu for a 53yard gain and running back Ezekiel Elliott scored three plays later to give the Cowboys a 28-17 lead.
The Cardinals' offensive line was impressive on its first two possessions, with Palmer completing his first 11 passes.
Arians went to a shorter passing game, using it from a variety of formations, empty backfields and some with two backs.
That worked better than the run game, which was stifled through much of the first half.
In its first two games, the Cardinals' offense scored just six points, but matched that on the opening possession Monday night.
The 82-yard touchdown drive featured a short passing game that gave the Cowboys problems. On third and 11, Palmer hit receiver Jaron Brown with a 25-yard strike that put the Cardinals ahead 7-0.
The Cardinals looked just as good on the second drive, until they reached the Dallas 10. A holding call on right tackle Veldheer nullified another touchdown pass to Brown, and Dawson missed the 36-yard field-goal attempt.
After that, the Cardinals offense bogged down. The Cowboys stiffened, continued to shut down the run and started to get pressure on Palmer.
The Cardinals gained only 12 yards in the second quarter.
Arizona's defense was on top of its game early, keeping the Cowboys from gaining a first down until their third possession. The Cowboys gained only three yards in the first quarter and 57 in the first half. Thirty of that came one run by Elliott.