The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Damn Those Cardinals

Posted on | December 26, 2021 | Comments Off on Damn Those Cardinals

Kyler Murray wears jersey No. 1, but he’s been playing like No. 2 lately, IYKWIMAITYD. As recently as Dec. 5, the Arizona Cardinals had the best record in the NFL at 10-2, but they’ve now lost three consecutive games, including Saturday night’s 22-16 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Why should I care? Because as a Patriots fan, with New England and Indianapolis both in the AFC playoff hunt, I’m cheering against every potential rival, including the Colts, who beat the Patriots last week.

The Cleveland Browns cooperated with my agenda Saturday, losing to the Green Bay Packers, and all I needed was for Kyler Murray and the Cardinals to have a decent game to drop the Colts to 8-7. I mean, Arizona had home field advantage, so this should have been an easy win, right? But no, the Cardinals were a carnival of errors. They took the opening kickoff and started driving, getting a first down at the Indianapolis 40, but then on third-and-3, Murray threw an incomplete pass, so Arizona decides to kick a field goal — and missed! The Colts scored a touchdown to go ahead 7-0, but the Cardinals answered with their own TD — and then missed the extra point! So now Arizona is trailing 7-6, and on their next possession, with a little more than 10 minutes left in the first half, the Cardinals come up on a fourth-and-1 at the Indianapolis 29, and decide to go for it. But they get a false-start penalty, and on fourth-and-6, Murray’s pass is caught at the Indianapolis 17, which should be a first down, but the Colts challenge the play and, after review, it’s ruled that the receiver was out of bounds, so Indianapolis takes over. Later, with about five minutes left in the half, a punt from the Colts pins Arizona back at their own 8-yard line. On third-and-7 from the 11, Murray lines up in the shotgun, the snap is low, and Murray gets called for intentional downing from the end zone, an automatic safety that gives Indianapolis a 9-6 lead.

After an error-filled start like that, the Cardinals did not deserve to win, and they didn’t. It wasn’t so much that the Colts won, but that the Cards lost and, in losing, thereby put more pressure on Mac Jones and the Patriots in today’s crucial game against the Buffalo Bills. As if they needed more pressure, y’know. Damn those Cardinals . . .




 

Category: Football

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