The Arizona Cardinals defense again had trouble making stops in their 10th loss of the season
Once again it wasn’t pretty but the Arizona Cardinals kept the team in a game that could have gone either way. However, as in their previous 9 losses and 1 tie, the Cardinals defense let them down.
They couldn’t stop the Los Angeles Rams offense. Rams quarterback Jared Goff went 29-45 for 319-yards and 3 touchdowns. It was a typical day at the office for the Cardinals defense.
They couldn’t get any consistent pressure on Goff and the offensive line. They couldn’t cover receivers and tight ends. They did hold running back Todd Gurley to 68-yards on 20-carries. However it was not nearly enough.
Chandler Jones, who needed 1 sack to get to 20 on the season and 4 to break the NFL record, got none. He ended at 19. He also lost out on leading the NFL. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Shaquil Barrett ended with 19.5, 3 on the day against the Atlanta Falcons.
That sounds about right. The Cardinals did not deserve any accolades with the way they played on both sides of the ball on Sunday. We can feel bad for Jones because he had a good season but now he’s all but lost Defensive Player of the Year.
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, in the running for Rookie of the Year also likely lost that nod thanks to his 2 interceptions. They were not good throws at all.
It’s too bad neither will win their respective awards but maybe if the Cardinals had made some correct moves and called better plays we wouldn’t be sitting here at this point. That said, it was nice to see the Cardinals give 100 percent effort on Sunday afternoon.
During the 6-game losing streak for the Cardinals, it had appeared at times as if they had given up on the season. Sunday’s loss was a much better effort than the first time around in a 34-7 loss in Glendale to the Rams.
Still, the Cardinals go home 5-10-1 and end up with the 8th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. A lot to digest over the next several months in preparation for the 2020 regular season.