Once again, the Arizona Cardinals possessed the ball in the final quarter with a shot at a win on Sunday, and once again they failed to follow through in a 20-17 loss at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The day’s inconsistencies came right out the gate after an opening defensive stop of Baker Mayfield and Co., as quarterback Jacoby Brissett was leading an efficient six-minute-plus drive when an untimely interception halted things.
Another turnover, this one a lost fumble by running back Bam Knight, to begin another promising drive in the first minutes of the second half left Arizona in a desperate position from that point on.
With wins this week by the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears, on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, respectively, the third and final domino fell with this Bucs loss for the Cardinals (3-9) to be officially eliminated from postseason contention.
Tight end Trey McBride made history at his position in this tilt with his first of eight catches, surpassing Jimmy Graham for most catches by a TE in their first four NFL seasons.
Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. returned after a two-game absence, but left the game with a heel injury after six catches and 69 yards and didn’t make it back.
Without further ado, Arizona Sports hosts react to the Tampa Bay loss.
John Gambadoro, co-host of Burns & Gambo:
Tell me if you have heard this one before. The Arizona Cardinals play a football game, they keep it close and lose by four points or less. Yes, been there done that. Like Groundhog Day.
That makes seven losses this season by four points or less. It’s gut-wrenching, it really is. That the Cardinals played hard and kept it close and even had the ball with a chance to tie or win with two minutes left is a testament to them not giving up on the season.
But after so many of these it’s just simple — they have not figured out how to win close games. Sure, some of it is lack of talent, but a lot of it does come down to a couple of key decisions. And I am not sure if I can ever get used to all of this going for it on fourth down.
I don’t want to sound ancient, but damn, in my days this rarely ever happened. Ball on your own 39-yard line facing a fourth-and-1 only down by seven points and you go for it? Will never make sense to me, I could care less what the analytical nerds believe the numbers say. Punt the damn ball. But nope, not in today’s NFL. You go for it, you fail and the Bucs take over basically in scoring position and kick a field goal to go up by 10 points with 8:58 left. Now you are chasing two scores not one.
You get the touchdown but it comes late with under five minutes left. You drain two of your timeouts and the two-minute warning before getting the ball back but you have it at your own 9-yard line. No margin for error. A full minute comes off the clock and you have moved the ball a whopping eight yards and now face a fourth-and-2 with 55 seconds left from your own 17-yard line, the ball is incomplete and you lose again.
Once again these close games come down to a few key decisions and they always seem to go the other teams way.
We will ask Gannon about the play tomorrow on the show, and I am sure he will have a logical explanation for why you go for it from your own 39 based on what the math says. But I will still hate it and it will never make sense to me.
Vince Marotta, co-host of Bickley & Marotta:
The calendar keeps changing. The opponent does too. The result remains the same.
Jonathan Gannon’s team is now an unfathomable 0-7 in games decided by four points or less this season after a 20-17 loss on the road at Tampa Bay. This team is allergic to winning close games.
At least this one came without a last-second tease.
The Cardinals thwarted their own success early in the game when Jacoby Brissett threw a bad interception on the first drive of the game. Chad Ryland again missed a very manageable field goal attempt from 43 yards in the third quarter. They turned the ball over on downs twice in the fourth quarter, including going four-and-out after taking possession with 1:52 left.
Twelve games into the season and this team has still failed to learn how to win NFL games.
Luke Lapinski, co-host of Wolf & Luke:
This is getting all too familiar. And one quick look at the schedule isn’t going to make anyone feel much better about what’s coming up.
The reality is the Cardinals are just too overmatched and beat up at this point to steal wins against quality opponents without delivering a borderline perfect performance. The Buccaneers (7-5) had to have this game, so it was already an uphill battle for Arizona. Not impossible, just tough. But an interception, a fumble and a missed field goal proved to be too much to overcome. Again.
The Cardinals kept it close, because this team does keep battling. That’s probably a good indicator the players still believe in their coach and his message, but it doesn’t erase the fact they’re now 0-7 in games decided by four points or less and 3-9 overall.
And in a season that began with very real playoff expectations, the Cardinals are only the second NFL team to already be officially mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. So that’s fun.
Now the biggest thing over these final five games is getting some clarity.
Who are the guys this team can rely on and confidently build around big picture? They have a few really good ones, but they clearly need more. And this season has proven the roster isn’t ready to have its depth tested like this. Not with the Rams and Texans coming up in the next two weeks.
Tyler Drake, Arizona Sports’ Cardinals reporter and co-host of Cardinals Corner:
I only need four words this week (excluding these ones): Eliminated from playoff contention.
OK, maybe I needed a few more. This one felt like much of Arizona’s games up to this point. Close but still no cigar. Losers of four straight, the end of the season can’t come soon enough.
