Arizona Cardinals choke during fourth quarter of latest loss

The Arizona Cardinals let opportunities to win get away during the final quarter of their loss to the surging Miami Dolphins

For a while there on Sunday, the Arizona Cardinals had victory in their grasp. Trailing the Miami Dolphins by a score of 34-31 late in the fourth quarter, head coach Kliff Kingsbury‘s squad needed a big play. Thanks to quarterback Kyler Murray and wide receiver Christian Kirk, they got it.

With 3:30 to go in an extremely hard-fought contest, Murray hit Kirk with a 35-yard pass that set the Cards up at the Miami 40-yard line. The Dolphins had given them quite a scare, but it sure looked as if Arizona was on their way to either a game-winning or game-tying score. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be.

Two straight carries by running back Chase Edmonds netted the Cardinals nine yards, leaving Murray and company with a very manageable third down and one. Kingsbury called a perfect play, a pass out in the flat to a wide-open Kirk. In what would go down as the first of three consecutive chokes by the Cards, Murray bounced the pass towards the feet of the wideout, leaving the offense with a fourth down and one.

There were quite a few Arizona followers who believed that Kingsbury would bypass the 49-yard field-goal attempt and go for it. After all, the offensive innovator had gambled on several other occasions in 2020, converting six out of seven fourth-down attempts this season heading into the matchup with Miami. Surely, Kingsbury would trust that Murray and the NFL’s number-one ranked scoring attack would be able to pick up one measly yard.

In what had to be a gut-wrenching decision, Kingsbury decided to go the conservative route, The Cardinals on-field leader sent placekicker Zane Gonzalez out to attempt the game-tying kick. What he got in return was yet another choke from one of the players on the Cards roster.

When it was on it’s way to the goalpost, Gonzalez’s boot appeared to be right on the mark. Accuracy-wise, the attempt was right down the middle. Distance was a problem, however, as Gonzalez’s kick fell short, leaving Arizona with the third defeat of their 2020 campaign.

So there you have it. Chokes by Murray, Kingsbury and Gonzalez with the contest in the balance. The Cardinals can only hope that the heartbreaking loss doesn’t come back to haunt them when the postseason teams are announced at the end of the year.