The Cardinals were once again on the wrong side of a close game as Arizona were bested by the Jacksonville Jaguars, 27-24 in overtime, on Sunday.
The Cardinals lost a game where the defense registered four turnovers and forced overtime after tying the game with a 29-yard Chad Ryland field in the final seconds of regulation.
The loss marked the Cardinals’ third straight loss and have now dropped eight of their last nine games this season.
Here’s what our Arizona Sports hosts had to say about the Cardinals’ latest loss:
Rapid reactions: Cardinals losing skid continues
Dave Burns, co-host of Burns & Gambo :
A competitive mess of a football game from both teams. By the end, it seemed as if both teams were in can-you-top-this mode for the most questionable decision and the most head-scratching play.
From the Cardinals’ perspective, it was Michael Wilson spinning the football after his incredible catch and Jacoby Brissett’s decision to not spike the ball and perhaps buy them one more look at the end zone. Perhaps even more baffling, the fourth-and-4 deep shot to Xavier Weaver in overtime that played out like a poorly timed kill-shot moment.
From the Jags’ standpoint, their decision not to kick a field goal near the end of regulation was just as baffling. Their decision wasn’t justified by the win, but it was certainly soothed by it.
This game felt more in line with the early-season losses; the ones that were competitive and close. Don’t confuse that for progress over the last two weeks of blowouts. At this point, the only thing that is going to make anybody feel better about anything is a win. Besides, a game you lose when winning the turnover margin 4-0 – which hadn’t been done in the last 50 tries in the NFL – can hardly be described as progress.
John Gambadoro, co-host of Burns & Gambo :
How the Cardinals lost a game in which they won the turnover battle 4-0 is going to haunt this team.
Heck this whole season is going to haunt this team and its fan base. Arizona picked off Trevor Lawrence three times and forced a fumble and somehow lost a game that neither team deserved to win. There were several crucial late-game decisions by both teams.
The Cardinals went for a fourth-and-12 from their own 28 with 2:07 left instead of punting and pinning Jacksonville deep with all three timeouts and the two-minute warning. Then, Jacksonville goes for a fourth-and-1 with 1:44 left from the Cardinals 19 instead of kicking a field goal to go up 6 and force Arizona to score a touchdown with no timeouts.
Arizona looked like it lost precious time after the 31 yard pass to Michael Wilson down to the Jags 10. He went down with 29 seconds remaining but he spun the ball instead of handing it to a referee and the Cardinals were a little slow getting down the field and with no spike only got one play off before the tying field goal.
In overtime, the Cardinals faced a fourth-and-4 from their own 42 – earlier in the game they got Jacksonville to jump off sides on a fourth down that gave the Cardinals a first down but this time they went deep to Xavier Weaver to try and win the game and the pass was broken up.
This game truly could have gone either way. Arizona got a standout performance from Wilson who had 10 catches for 118 yards proving once again he can be a huge part of their offense.
Tyler Drake, Cardinals reporter and co-host of Cardinals Corner :
The Cardinals continue to find new ways to lose. Sunday was just the latest example. Arizona remains firmly on the mat with no turnaround in sight.