The Arizona Cardinals are officially reeling after a third straight loss and fell below .500 (6-7) with a lousy home performance 30-18 against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
After an opening touchdown against wide receiver Michael Wilson, two interceptions in the first quarter from Kyler Murray’s arm dissipated any early momentum in a critical Week 14 divisional matchup.
A 44-42 upset win by the Los Angeles Rams (7-6) over the Buffalo Bills left the Cardinals in third place in the NFC West standings.
With the division lead slipping out of reach, the Cardinals will be forced to play near-perfect football down the stretch to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Arizona Sports The hosts and reporters offered their biggest takeaways from the Cardinals’ third home loss of 2024:
Vince Marotta, co-host of The mornings of Bickley and Marotta: Two weeks ago, in a 16-6 loss to the Seahawks in Seattle, Drew Petzing and the Cardinals offense, in my opinion, gave up on the ground game too early.
On Sunday in Glendale, Arizona’s offense might have been inclined to abandon the passing game after its first drive of the game, which saw it take a 7-0 lead in a 30-18 loss.
For the third week in a row, Kyler Murray crippled any chance the Cardinals had at winning with two incredibly bad interceptions on back-to-back throws in the first quarter. Leading 7-3, Murray was picked off by linebacker Ernest Jones on a play where the QB apparently didn’t see the defender.
One play later, Seattle pounced with Geno Smith throwing a 19-yard touchdown to Jaxson Smith-Njigba to give Seattle a lead they would never relinquish.
Two offensive plays later, Murray looked at Marvin Harrison Jr. and Coby Bryant picked him off. Five plays later, Zach Charbonnet capped a goal with a 1-yard run to make it 17-7.
It was like a ball game. It was.
Let’s rewind…not only did the Cardinals’ bye week come at a bad time. It lasted four weeks. Sure, Arizona was competitive last week at Minnesota (a game the Cardinals should have won), but that heartbreak was sandwiched by two absolutely dominant performances from the Seahawks. Both Cardinals lines were crushed like a speed bump in a busy mall parking lot on Christmas AGAIN.
The Cardinals are not a playoff team. They tried to make us believe they were, and stacking wins against mediocre to bad teams over the first 10 weeks of the season made me a believer. The truth is that they have a victory against a team that has a pulse this season.
They could win one of the next two games against the poor but improving Patriots or Panthers over the next two weeks, but the reality is this team overperformed heading into the bye week and is more likely to finish last of the NFC West than earning a playoff spot.
John Gambadoro, co-host of Burns and Gambo: There was a lot to dislike about this one.
Kyler Murray was horrible with two huge interceptions that turned into 14 Seattle points. The run defense was gashed by running back Cach Charbonnet to the tune of 134 yards on 22 carries, a very healthy average of 6.1 yards per carry and the Seahawks as a team produced a whopping 176 in the rush. ground. By the way, Seattle failed to reach 100 rushing yards in any of its previous three games.
Now add in the fact that, for all intents and purposes, Arizona’s playoff chances have been abandoned. There are a lot of things not to like.
The Cardinals lost to the Seahawks in Seattle. And the defeat against Minnesota didn’t hurt them too much. They were still in good shape and just needed to control their own destiny to win a must-win home game against Seattle today. But by laying an egg, they are now 2 games behind the Seahawks with four to play and they don’t have the tiebreaker. Basically, the Cardinals can’t lose another game and need Seattle to lose 3. And that’s not even taking into account the Rams who beat Buffalo today in a shootout.
The Murray conundrum continues. She loves me, she doesn’t love me. About three times this season we have all been totally wowed by his growth as a quarterback and his ability to play like a top 10 QB in this league. But there are also games like this – a complete failure in which his play was a direct result of the defeat. There have been a few this year. Ultimately, you judge Murray on his body of work over a full season – not just the bad games and not just the good games. And this one after last week’s two INT performances and throwing an INT in Seattle means 5 INTs in the last three games and the Cardinals are 0-3 when playing meaningful games down the stretch . It’s simply not enough. It must be better.
Dave Burns, co-host of Burns and Gambo: Before the game, I heard a wise man say that if you’re a playoff team, you win this game. They didn’t and they aren’t and that’s it. Sure, we can talk about winning and getting playoff help and odds. But a divisional game in December at home must be won. If you can’t… you don’t deserve it. As for why? A multiple choice question where the only correct answer is “all of the above”.
Kyler Murray threw two disastrous picks on consecutive throws that both ended in touchdowns in the first half. Murray played pretty decently last week, but Sunday raises questions about his ability to be big when the need is greatest. Three years ago, a 9-2 Cards team collapsed in December and Kyler couldn’t rise. Jonathan Gannon said after the game that they wouldn’t play meaningful games without him. That’s true, but… can he elevate his game based on the moment? He’s looking more temperamental and sensitive to pressure lately, which raises the question of whether it’s him or his line in front of him.
Trey McBride didn’t catch the ball until five minutes left in the third quarter. The Cards defense gave them a chance in the second half, but dropped yards like candy from a broken pinata in the first half. Add it up and you’ll find a team that wasn’t ready for its post-week close-up.
At the end of the match, “Closing Time” by Semisonic blared through the stadium speakers. Maybe they play it every week, but the song was especially relevant this Sunday. Gather your jackets. Move it towards the exits. You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.
Tyler Drake, Arizona Sports The Cardinals beat the writer and Cardinals’ Corner co-host: The Cardinals entered Sunday’s game against the Seahawks as the more desperate team with the NFC West and playoff hopes on the line.
After four quarters, it was Seattle that looked like the team that most needed (and wanted) a win.
This is a tough decision for Arizona and its fans to swallow. This feeling of progress has disappeared. And right behind are the Cardinals’ playoff hopes.
The season isn’t over but it sure is after this one.