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Instant Reaction: Cardinals Reach New Low

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Alex D’Agostino Avatar

Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray

Every week, the same nightmare grows worse. On Sunday, the Arizona Cardinals somehow squandered a 21-6 lead deep in the fourth quarter, losing 22-21 to the lowly Tennessee Titans.

For as much encouragement as there was early on, it was nearly the same story as the game grew long. The offense stalled out, penalties and turnovers ruined scoring opportunities, and Arizona failed to put their opponents away.

Yes, the offense itself struggled. But it wasn’t about scheme. Glaring, game-losing mistakes pervaded the contest. Even if the Cardinals had held on, it would have been the third straight victory that left a sour taste in the mouths of onlookers.

Cardinals Blow Big Lead

If this is the identity of the Cardinals, something major needs to change. As good as Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison Jr. looked early on, the execution was not there in the second half.

At this stage it’s becoming predictable — extremely predictable. Arizona, facing an exceptionally weak team, loses its sense of urgency as the game wanes. With multiple chances to put the game away, multiple inexcusable mistakes hinder what should have been an easy task — relative to the caliber of even the worst NFL rosters.

The Cardinals had the ball deep in Tennessee territory late in the third quarter. They committed a pair of penalties, then Kyler Murray was unprepared for a snap and the Titans recovered. Emari Demercado then nearly put the game away with a 76-yard score — or so he thought, but he let go of the ball before crossing the goal line.

Dadrion Tayl0r-Demerson intercepted Titans QB Cam Ward for what might have been a game-saving play, but fumbled in the end zone, allowing the Titans to recover for a touchdown.

The defense, for the first time this season, was not without serious blame, either. They allowed back-to-back easy scoring drives in the fourth quarter. Perhaps they were finally too gassed to make up for the offense’s lack of ability to close, but it was an extremely poor effort in the fourth by Nick Rallis’ group.

These are not mistakes that a team can commit and expect to beat contenders. That’s been a steady narrative. But now, the frequency of these errors (and the situations in which they occur) are so egregious, Arizona can’t even hold on against the NFL’s worst.

This is not the type of loss from which an already-middling team can easily recover. If this doesn’t signal change, there’s no change coming, and there are no playoffs coming, either.