The Arizona Cardinals lost to the Detroit Lions in Week 15, and it should come as no surprise to those that follow the team closely.
Weeks ago, I knew the Detroit Lions could beat the Arizona Cardinals. It’s how this team rolls. And in so many ways, it feels like we’re living through the 2020 season again as the Cardinals are collapsing.
Both Kliff Kingsbury’s play-calling and game management (again) are a huge reason for the 2021 stagnation, we’ll call it at this point. Kyler Murray is (again) struggling late in the season, putting his credibility as a franchise quarterback at stake.
Kingsbury has annually struggled in the final months of any season since his college coaching career began in 2013. And once again, it leads you to question whether he’s the right guy for the job, especially with big names like Jason Garrett and Doug Pederson, two proven coaches, on the market.
It makes you wonder whether Murray is the franchise quarterback he looked like during the first half of both 2020 and 2021 before falling back to Earth for what is now the second straight season. He reminds you of Russell Wilson in September and October. Only to look like Zach Wilson come November and December.
But the dilemma that is Kingsbury’s questionable coaching and Murray’s inconsistency late in the season are just two of many reasons why Arizona‘s beatdown from the Lions on Sunday should have come as no surprise. Here are three more.