Rapid Reactions: Arizona Cardinals upset Green Bay Packers

It had been a while since the Arizona Cardinals could say they beat a team not named the San Francisco 49ers.

It was significantly longer since the Cardinals claimed defeat over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

The Cardinals did just that on Sunday, besting the Packers, 20-17, at Lambeau for their first win there since 1949.

Kicker Zane Gonzalez, formerly of ASU, booted the game-winning 44-yard field goal with less than two minutes remaining.

Green Bay’s Mason Crosby missed a 49-yard attempt as time expired.

Arizona moved to 3-9 with the win while the Packers dropped to 4-7-1.

Here are the rapid reactions from the 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station hosts.

Vince Marotta, co-host of Bickley & Marotta

Last week, many were asking if the Arizona Cardinals had quit on first-year head coach Steve Wilks. It was fair to ask the question.

The guys in the red and white uniforms answered that question with an emphatic ‘no’ Sunday, pulling off an improbable 20-17 win over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field — a venue at which they haven’t celebrated a victory since 1949.

Statistically, the Cardinals weren’t great on offense, although they did break the 300-yard plateau for only the second time this season. Rookie quarterback Josh Rosen completed only 11-of-26 passes for 149 yards, but didn’t turn the ball over.

Rosen had a “signature play” late for Arizona when he hit Larry Fitzgerald on a 32-yard completion (Fitz made an unreal catch) on a third down and 23. On the previous play, Rosen scrambled and made a terrible decision to throw the ball downfield —  a ball that looked like a sure interception until it was dropped by Eddie Pleasant of the Packers.

Rosen showed that “short memory” that all good quarterbacks need to possess, and it led to Zane Gonzalez’s 44-yard go-ahead field goal.

That question that was asked in Arizona last week will be asked on a loop in Green Bay this week. A Packers team that hadn’t lost at home all year and was fighting to stay in playoff contention looked like a group that has no interest in saving Mike McCarthy’s job for 2019.

All in all, a good win for the Cardinals — and that might be the first time all year those words have been uttered.

Dave Burns, co-host of Burns & Gambo

When Larry Fitzgerald retires, if not this year then certainly next, it’s doubtful we’ll remember his catch in the cold of Green Bay in the final act of a lost season. But make no mistake, Fitz’s catch is one of the reason we’re talking about a Cardinals win. No matter how mediocre the home team might be, Green Bay is a difficult place to win in December.

With the game tied and facing a 3rd-and-23 the Cards were in a tough spot. Punt and the Packers take over in presumably decent field position and a chance to take the lead. Instead, one of the greatest wide receivers in the history of the game made a play that kept hope alive: A 32-yard diving snag that somehow Larry came up with.

It was not one of the top 10 catches of career. Likely not top 20. Just another reminder of his greatness and how much getting the ball to #11 still matters. Greatly.

Other reactions:

Great debut for Zane Gonzalez. The ASU product who’s in an audition phase for next year booted two field goals included the go ahead 44-yarder with under two minutes left. The Cards wanted to take a look and they got a good one.

I was not too surprised to see a few people on social media frustrated that Chase Edmonds was stealing fantasy points away from David Johnson. This despite the fact the Cards were winning. Priorities people. Priorities.

We had speculated on Friday’s show that this was “stealable” game though neither one of us thought the Cards were actually going to steal it. The Packers are a mess and Mike McCarthy is now out because of it. Losing at home to a 2-9 team will do that to an embattled coach. The flip side to that coin; this was a much needed, completely unexpected gift for Steve Wilks. One that should quiet the noise on his future. Will it be enough? Only time will tell.

John Gambadoro, co-host of Burns & Gambo

Green Bay was beatable. This was a winnable game. The Packers are just not a good football team and even going on the road as a 2-9 team as long as Arizona came to play they had a chance to win.

I wouldn’t even call it an upset. The question was would Arizona show up to play and we got that answer. A close loss after the way they played would not have been good – no moral victories on this day. This game was just too winnable. So credit to Steve Wilks — he got his team prepared and motivated and they didn’t quit on him especially after last week’s debacle against the Chargers.

Credit to Steve Keim for shuffling the deck and getting rid of some dead wood and bringing in players that actually wanted to play and prove themselves. The Cardinals played eight rookies in that game.

Rosen with 5:26 left calmly guided the Cardinals into field goal range and Zane Gonzalez nailed the 44-yarder that not only proved to be the game winner but may have also given Cardinals fans some hope that they will emerge from this season with a real good kicker. Gonzalez was perfect right down the middle on his two extra points and his first 44-yard field goal. And with the pressure on he calmly nailed the game-winner from 44 yards. Overall that was a great debut for the former Sun Devil star.

Rosen was good at times – especially on the 3rd-and-23 that he found Larry Fitzgerald on to help set up the winning kick. The Cardinals were just about to kick themselves after starting out on their own 25 and going backwards after a sack and delay of game penalty. But Rosen to Fitz saved the day.

The defense was good, the O-Line held up just fine and the 2018 rookie draft class is showing a lot of potential. Overall that was a good day for Arizona — a lot was accomplished and most importantly it gives the players a reprieve from all the losing and something to build on.

Kevin Zimmerman, ArizonaSports.com editor and reporter

It was a game of dysfunctional teams, no doubt, but the Cardinals deserve credit for making enough plays and surviving the few Green Bay made.

Josh Rosen’s miraculous 3rd-and-23 conversion to set up Zane Gonzalez’s game-winning field goal wouldn’t have happened if Packers safety Eddie Pleasant hadn’t dropped an interception of Rosen on a throw that had no business being tossed just plays earlier. A botched snap and delay-of-game penalty also nearly ended Arizona’s chances on that drive.

Can an 11-of-26 passing outing for 149 yards for Rosen be stamped as a success? Maybe, if only because Rosen didn’t throw a pick.

There were more positives. The injury-plagued offensive line somehow held up enough to give the Cardinals a chance with a good mix of David Johnson and Chase Edmonds making for a diverse rushing attack. It’s been a trend that run game has improved since OC Byron Leftwich took over.

Defensively, Arizona overcame early missed tackles to put together a solid performance with Josh Bynes’ replacement, Gerald Hodges, thriving at linebacker with a team-leading 13 tackles and David Amerson holding up as the new starting cornerback.

As it’s been anytime the Cardinals show signs of progress though, it’s how they look next week that matters a lot. As in, can they just put together two decent performances together, win or loss?

Jordan Byrd, producer of Burns & Gambo and host of Arizona Sports Saturday

Leave it to Larry Fitzgerald to save the Cardinals; and that’s exactly what the future Hall of Famer did by making that catch on 3rd and forever.

The Cardinals outplayed the Packers for most of Sunday, and while that’s not saying much, they were trending towards giving this gave away. Had Fitz not made that diving one-handed grab, Arizona would have had to punt and Aaron Rodgers would have been given some great field position as the Packers QB was just beginning to heat up. Instead, the Cardinals were able to drive down the rest of the field for what turned out to be the game winning field goal.

The offensive line played much better than I thought they would going into this game and Chase Edmonds showed that he has the potential to be a bigger part of the offense moving forward. The need for consistent offensive weapons is still a major issue but some keys plays were made when needed and that hasn’t been the case for most of this season.

Josh Rosen was a mixed bag today. He did some nice things like having a better pocket presence and that scramble run was another big play. However, it’s hard not to shake your head at some of his decisions and throws. The game could have really gone sideways if the Packers held on to a gimme interception on an ill advised throw. Rosen’s inaccuracy was on display again as well, throwing well over the heads of his intended targets multiple times.

Defensively the Cardinals played extremely well. The communication issues that have plagued the secondary all season didn’t seem to be a problem today. The line was able to create enough pressure to not allow Aaron Rodgers to pick them apart all day and did a great job of making stops on 3rd downs.

The Cardinals played like the better team today. To be rewarded with the win is something this team needed dearly but it’s also a positive sign that Steve Wilks still has this team playing hard. Now can they be consistent as a team and make it two in a row against a mediocre Lions team at home?

Follow @AZSports