Arizona Cardinals’ win couldn’t have been uglier
By Jim Koch
Their head coach would disagree, but the Arizona Cardinals’ unexciting triumph on Sunday wouldn’t win any beauty contests
Arizona Cardinals’ head coach Bruce Arians couldn’t care less. The 65-year old knows better than anyone that wins are hard to come by. The Cards’ leader has been around long enough to realize that you take them any way you can get them.
Such was the case with the Cardinals’ 12-7 victory over the Tennessee Titans this past Sunday. The matchup was torturous to watch, especially considering the fact that Arizona winning essentially meant nothing. It may have even cost the organization some valuable slots in next April’s NFL Draft.
For fans that enjoy defensive football, the contest versus the Titans was certainly for you. It’s hard to believe that Tennessee came to the desert sporting an eight and four record. Their defense was impressive, but the offensive effort put forth by quarterback Marcus Mariota and company was putrid.
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The Cards’ offense was almost as bad. Blaine Gabbert, auditioning to be the franchise’s starting signal-caller going forward, struggled mightily. His final statistics weren’t terrible (17 for 26, 178 yards), but the journeyman misfired on quite a few throws throughout the day.
While the Cardinals’ offensive line opened up some decent holes in the running game, the unit’s pass-blocking was pathetic. Gabbert was sacked eight times, a big reason for the offense’s many stalled drives. It goes without saying, but this area of the team is gonna need a major overhaul in the offseason.
Arizona’s wide receivers contributed practically nothing to the triumph. Larry Fitzgerald, despite passing Randy Moss for third-place on the league’s all-time yardage list, led the group with a paltry 44 yards. Part of the wideouts’ dismal performance can be attributed to Gabbert’s inaccuracy, however.
Even with all the negativity, Arizona was still able to come out on top. Pretty or not, a win is a win. Arians, for one, wont be arguing with that point any time soon.