Arizona Cardinals decision to be conservative seals fate

Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury made the decision to be conservative late in the loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday

We can sit here all day and argue about whether the decision to kick a field goal in the closing minutes of the Arizona Cardinals loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday was a good one or not. It was a conservative move however.

Initially there was concern the Cardinals really should have gone for it on 4th and 1. Instead they opted for a Zane Gonzalez 49-yard field goal attempt.

Even before the kick was no good, it felt like the wrong thing to be doing as the Cards had pretty much been able to move the ball at will up and down the field all afternoon.  But, looking back at it, it was probably the right decision and then take chances in overtime.

Gonzalez should never have missed the kick.  Thing was, this wasn’t because of accuracy but distance.  Amazingly the ball fell short.  This from a kicker who has regularly hit kicks over 50-yards with ease in stress situations.

The Cardinals really messed things up on 3rd and 1 though.  The play call was a bit suspect. It was an out play to receiver Christian Kirk.  The pass was not very good at all.

Why not run the ball there?  You needed ONE YARD.  Not only are you getting your one yard there, you also run more clock off the board.

Then Kingsbury decided not to roll the dice at that point despite having gone 2-3 already on 4th down on Sunday.  The Cardinals have been quite successful on 4th down this season.

In the end it looked like the Cardinals were playing not to lose rather than win.  That’s what will in the end separate them from the teams that make the playoffs.  Conservative isn’t necessarily bad but when you’ve been aggressive all day, why go conservative when the game is on the line and you have the most to lose?