The Cardinals became a Phoenix last night as the Rams lit them on fire. Many words can describe what we saw from the Arizona Cardinals last night. Terrible, gross, embarrassing, ineffective, sad, unwatchable, just to name a few. The Cardinals looked like they could not beat any team, let alone the Rams. Based on how the regular season ended, this should not have been a surprise.
A loss to the Lions spread gasoline on the Cardinals. It was from that point on that the team began their downward spiral. Their one shining light was a victory against a Dallas Cowboys team that was nowhere near as good as they pretended. Questions began to arise about Kliff Kingsbury and his second half record. These questions were validated with another collapse as the team ended 4-7 after starting 7-0.
Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks lit the match in week-18. The Cardinals had a chance to win the NFC West with a victory over the Seahawks. A Seattle team that had 6 wins and nothing to play for in the season finale. Instead, the Cardinals stacked up their 5th loss of the year at home and limped their way into the playoffs. We all felt that a successful season hinged on this game. See https://azsportsandbeyond.com/cardinals-wild-card-game/
The Rams ignited the flames on Monday night. The Cardinals played their first playoff game since 2015 and they could not have looked worse. Kyler Murray looked like he would rather be playing baseball. Kliff looked like he wanted to take the job at Oklahoma. The entire defense looked tired and ready to quit after getting no help from the offense. The wild Card game officially lit the Cardinals’ season on fire.
There was no flow to the game for the Cardinals. Kyler never got into a rhythm on offense. He seemed off the entire night throwing the ball. It did not help that A.J. Green could not seem to hold onto the ball. Plus, coach Kingsbury decided to completely abandon the run game. Screen passes to nowhere and incomplete passes were the only things Kyler could do. Not to mention, the offensive line let everyone through as Kyler held the ball instead of taking off and using his legs.
On defense, there was no point in time where Stafford felt uncomfortable. He was able to sit in the pocket and hit big passes on play action. Supplemented well by a run game the defense could not stop. Giving up 34 total points would have made it very tough on the offense even if they were performing well.
The Cardinals must make changes. That much is evident. What changes should be done and what changes will be done? That is a question for another day. However, there should be a consensus among fans that several players need to be replaced and possibly the coaching staff. The only player that is truly safe is likely Budda Baker (who is recovering well https://arizonasports.com/story/2974654/cardinals-budda-baker-gives-health-update-from-hospital-bed/). There is now even skepticism on if Kyler Murray is the guy.
The wild Card game officially lit the Cardinals’ season on fire. All that we have left on Tuesday, are ashes of what could have been.
