Three phases: Cardinals leave room for improvement in loss to Patriots

Preseason hype can be a cruel mistress, especially when performance doesn’t match talk.

That’s the boat the Arizona Cardinals are in following a disappointing 23-21 loss to the New England Patriots Sunday night at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Despite slogging through much of the game, Arizona had a chance to grab a lead with :36 left, but Chandler Catanzaro’s 47-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left, handing Jimmy Garoppolo his first win as an NFL starter and the Cardinals their first loss in a season opener since Bruce Arians’ first year as head coach in 2013.

Here’s a synopsis of the Cardinals’ performance in all three phases of the game.

Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson (31) runs for a first down against the New England Patriots during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

 

Offense

Much of that preseason hype centered around the Cardinals’ offense, and how they returned pretty much every player who contributed a yard or point to the cause in 2015. Could the Cardinals score 500 points this season? To do that, Arizona would have to average 31.25 points per game — something they fell short of Sunday…by ten.

Quarterback Carson Palmer was decent, completing 24-of-37 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns — both to Larry Fitzgerald, who visited the end zone for the 100th time in his career with a circus catch on a 1-yard toss from Palmer in the fourth quarter.

The running game was just OK. David Johnson did have 89 yards on the ground, but 45 came on one highlight run in second half. On his other 15 totes, the second-year man had 44 yards (2.9 per carry). The offensive line, which paved the way for a very productive running game in the preseason (yes, we know it was only preseason) failed to create a lot of room to run through, although second-year right tackle D.J. Humphries, making his first NFL start, did receive kudos from general manager Steve Keim.

“I thought in the run game, he was excellent,” Keim told Doug and Wolf Monday morning on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. “He rolled people out of there on the goal line run by David Johnson. He drove a guy about six yards into the end zone and dumped him. I thought he played solid.”

Right guard Evan Mathis was in and out of the game with a foot injury. Earl Watford filled in and had a costly holding penalty on Arizona’s last possession, which ended with the field goal miss.

The Cardinals were decent on third down, converting 6-of-10 opportunities.

The explosive nature of their offense was missing, however. Outside of Johnson’s 45-yard run, Arizona mustered only three other plays of 20-plus yards, all passes. In all, they amassed 344 yards on 59 plays, or 5.8 yards per pop.

New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (10) is hit as he throws by Arizona Cardinals strong safety Tony Jefferson (22) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

 

Defense

The defensive struggles were largely on third down, which has been written about extensively in the aftermath of the loss. The Patriots converted 10-of-16 opportunities, which led to a 7:58 edge in time of possession.

And it’s not like New England had numerous 3rd-and-short situations. Their average distance to gain on third down was 7.68 yards. Arizona’s failures to get off the field were the biggest single contribution to the loss.

Individually, rookie cornerback Brandon Williams was under the microscope, and stood out as a weakness on a couple of key plays. Midway through the first quarter, Williams got caught looking into the backfield on a 2nd-and-4 and let Chris Hogan get behind him for an easy 37-yard touchdown. In the third quarter, with New England facing a 3rd-and-7, Garoppolo found Malcolm Mitchell for the first down. Williams then punctuated the completion by missing the tackle. The play went for 28 yards. LeGarrette Blount scored on the next play to put the Patriots up 17-7.

On the plus side, safety Tony Jefferson was the best defensive player of the night for the Cardinals. He led the team with 10 total tackles, two tackles for loss and got a hit on Garoppolo.

Arizona Cardinals kicker Chandler Catanzaro (7) looks at punter Drew Butler (2) after missing a game winning field goal attempt during the second half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. The Patriots won 23-21. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

 

Special Teams

This was pretty much a mess all night long.

Drew Butler struggled in the punting game, averaging only 36 yards on five punts. He was shaken up early in the game and spent the rest of it limping around.

Andre Ellington didn’t do anything on kick returns, averaging only 15.3 yards per attempt. He wasn’t blessed with great blocking, either.

And of course, the play that ultimately buried Arizona was the missed field goal attempt. Rookie long snapper Cameron Canaday’s snap to Butler was low (but not as bad as I originally thought). Butler mishandled it initially, but recovered well to get the ball down for Catanzaro, but the timing was off by a split-second and the kick sailed left.

Catanzaro took responsibility for the miss.

“I’ve got to make the kick, just an old-fashioned miss,” he said. “That’s on me. This game falls on my shoulders. I appreciate the opportunity the offense gave me. Had a great drive down the field, I’ve got to make the kick. I’ll make the next one.”

Follow @Vincemarotta