Arizona Cardinals coach must answer critics following Sunday’s loss

Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury is known for his gutsy play calls, especially when it comes to going for it on fourth down.

It’s almost a given, to see Kingsbury leave the Arizona Cardinals offense out on the field in a fourth and one scenario. Except during the final two minutes in Sunday’s thriller against the Miami Dolphins, when Kingsbury elected to kick a field goal rather than go for it on fourth and one.

Up to that point, the Cardinals had converted two of three third-down conversions, and just about every one of the 4,200 fans in attendance and the millions watching and tuning at home thought Kingsbury would leave the red-hot Cardinals offense on the field to keep the drive alive. Instead, Kingsbury elected to kick the field goal with kicker Zane Gonzalez, whose season could at best be described as shaky.

Although Gonzalez’s kick was on the mark, it fell short and the Cards defense couldn’t get the ball back to its offense. While earlier in the season the Red Sea wouldn’t think any different of Kingsbury’s call, we’ve learned the Cardinals head coach loves to roll the dice on fourth down. And most often, he wins the gamble.

Kingsbury will face questions from the media regarding his uncharacteristic conservative decision to try and tie the game with a kicker who has been erratic in 2020. From an analytics standpoint, quarterback Kyler Murray and the Cardinals offense is converting that fourth down and perhaps either setting up a more manageable field goal attempt or winning the game outright.

We will never know for sure, but given the Cardinals track record going for it on fourth and short, it is safe to bet the offense converts. This isn’t to pin the loss on Kingsbury, who has done a fantastic job this season running the Cardinals offense.

COVID-19 reared its ugly head in the Cardinals locker room and as a result, two defensive starters sat out the contest along with numerous assistant coaches. Safety Jalen Thompson saw his first taste of action since returning from IR. And outside linebacker Markus Golden was getting reacclimated to the lineup.

Plus, the Cards had numerous penalties on both sides of the ball. Many of them coming at the worst possible times.

Despite this, you must question Kingsbury’s call late in the game. Gonzalez isn’t Mr. Automatic and the Cardinals offense often converts fourth and short. Don’t pin the loss solely on Kingsbury. But you have the right to ask why he made the uncharacteristic decision to kick in favor of his usual gutsy style of play calling.

Especially when you have one of the NFL’s hottest up and coming dual-threat quarterbacks like Kyler Murray lining up under center. It will be interesting to hear Kingsbury’s motive.