The Arizona Cardinals lost on a successful 2-point conversion by the Los Angeles Chargers after allowing a touchdown in the game’s final minute on Sunday after holding a steady seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter.
What led to the Cardinals downfall and what happened leading up to this moment?
Before this crushing result, the Cardinals looked like a completely different team than in recent weeks. They scored a touchdown in the first quarter. Kyler Murray looked electric, James Conner could not be contained, and the defense was creating pressure all over the field. The team and even coaches looked in sync for the first time all season on all sides of the ball.
Points came early in this game for the Cards as they scored 17 points in the first half of the game. Murray connected with Hopkins for a 33-yard touchdown in the first quarter, Matt Prater put up a beautiful 43-yard field goal in the second quarter, and Murray had an electric touchdown scramble in the final seconds of the first half. The Cards led the Chargers by 3 points going into the half and the team was firing on all cylinders. The Cardinals looked full of energy and urgent to execute plays.
Coming out of the half the Cardinals put together a decent drive with Conner toting the rock with some solid runs and continuing to stampede his way over the Chargers porous defensive line. The Cardinals managed to get all the way to the Chargers 31-yard line and were on the brink of points but kicker Matt Prater botched the 49-yard field goal left. The Chargers managed to kick a field goal of their own on their next drive to outscore the Cardinals in the 3rd quarter.
The Cardinals got the ball back and put together an excellent 75-yard drive down the field. The drive was highlighted by a gorgeous pass to superstar receiver Deandre Hopkins for 29 yards that gave momentum to the offense. Then a clutch catch by running back Corey Clement for 8 yards converted a 3rd down just before the end of the 3rd quarter.
And it all falls apart…
The 4th quarter. The final opportunities of the game. The game tied at 17-17. Arizona’s ball. This is where either team could win it or go down in defeat but the momentum was on the side of the hometown team.
Murray in shotgun got the snap, and passed it out wide for Conner who broke a tackle and stumbled his way in for a touchdown. The Cardinals took a 24-17 lead with 13 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter. The stadium was roaring and Murray was visibly pumped up.
The Cardinals defense picked up right where they left off and stalled the Chargers offense on their next drive to give the ball back to the offense. However, the Cards offense couldn’t get much going and both teams traded punts.
After a series of 3-and-outs, with 2:19 left in the game, all the Cardinals offense had to do was pick up the 1st down and run down the clock and victory would be well in hand. The Cardinals offense went 3-and-out yet again on a drive that lasted 31 seconds and gave the Chargers a chance to tie and win the game.
The Chargers torched the Cardinals secondary and in 7 plays went 38 yards in less than two minutes, capping it off with an Austin Ekeler touchdown. The Chargers scored but had the decision to either tie the game and play for overtime or settle it in a sudden death 2-pt conversion attempt.
The momentum that the Chargers garnished on their final drive led them to attempt a 2-pt conversion and they were successful with 15 seconds left in the game.
The Cardinals offense couldn’t get it done
It was definitely a gutsy call from the Chargers sideline but after the Cardinals defense forced 3 punts in the 4th quarter and gave their offense numerous opportunities to score, run out the clock, or get a 1st down to seal victory, this was not the fault of the defense. Yes, they allowed the game-tying touchdown and game-winning 2-pt conversion attempt, but the offense was given opportunity after opportunity to put the game away and they could not execute.
The Cardinals offense failed. The situational offensive coaching failed. This all falls on head coach Kliff Kingsbury. When Kingsbury was asked if he was concerned about his job security during his postgame press conference, he simply answered “I’m not.”
For a team with 4 wins and 8 losses, it was surprising how cool and calm Kingsbury answered that question. The sense of urgency did not look there, at least it didn’t appear that way. Urgency is what the Cardinals have needed all year, especially on the offense. There were glimmers of it during this game but it still did not produce the outcome that was needed to keep the Cardinals minute playoff hopes alive.
Heading into the bye week, coming off the team’s 5th straight loss, this could motivate team owner Michael Bidwill to make some changes within the organization sometime soon. If Kingsbury survives the bye week, he must prove that he should remain in the desert through the last 5 games as his job will, hopefully, depend upon it.
