Arizona Cardinals Not Yet Amongst The Walking Dead
By Scott Allen
Oct 13, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back Andre Ellington (38) rushes for a gain against the San Francisco 49ers during the second quarter at Candlestick Park. The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 32-20. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Yesterday’s loss was a tough one to take given the way the Arizona Cardinals lost to the San Francisco 49’ers 32-20 in San Francisco. A lot of people outside of Arizona expected a blowout and quite honestly many people who call themselves fans here didn’t give them much of a chance. Early on, it appeared to be the same old Cardinals. It wasn’t the same old Cardinals in the sense that they didn’t give up and still had a chance to win in the fourth quarter. It was in some ways though the same old Cardinals in that close doesn’t count once again.
A loss to the Niners put the Cards at 0-2 inside NFC West division play. With the way the Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, and Niners are playing right now, 0-2 might be tough to overcome to win the division. However as mediocre as much of the NFC is right now, the playoffs are still very well within reach. It will take some work though.
The Cards started off slow again yesterday with two Carson Palmer interceptions, which led to two Niners field goals. The Cards though took the lead at one point and was within two points going into the fourth quarter. There are no moral victories in the NFL, however there is no time to sulk. The Seahawks come calling on Thursday night in Glendale. The Cards moved the ball on offense much better after those first couple of drives on Sunday than they did the previous two weeks and this was against a very strong Niners defense. Palmer seemed to settle in and do a better job of not forcing balls where they should be going. They also managed more than 100 yards rushing for the first time in 2013.
The Cards appear to be moving in the right direction but the only real way to gauge that is in wins and losses. The Cards need to win this one against the Hawks because the return trip to Seattle is in late December. It’s hard enough to play in Seattle but in December when its colder and wetter, it could be downright miserable. If you want to split the season series with the Hawks and salvage any chance at making noise in the division race, win this Thursday.
Even a loss this Thursday isn’t a death sentence for the Cards but it will make it more difficult on them to even think about the playoffs at this point. What looked to be two tougher games on October 27th and November 10th against the Atlanta Falcons and Houston Texans, now although they will still be tough, they look a lot more winnable today than they did before the season started.
It must be one game at a time though for the Cards. There aren’t amongst the walking dead yet though, so don’t count them out. Go Cards!