ARIZONA CARDINALS

Big Red Recap: Cardinals look lost in Buffalo

Sep 25, 2016, 1:59 PM | Updated: 3:17 pm

Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson (31) is stopped by Buffalo Bills defenders Kyle Willia...

Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson (31) is stopped by Buffalo Bills defenders Kyle Williams (95) and Zach Brown (53) during the second half of an NFL football game on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert)

(AP Photo/Bill Wippert)

The Arizona Cardinals appeared lost.

Like a piece of luggage, neither the Cardinals offense, defense nor special teams made the trip to Buffalo, or so it played out in a 33-18 Week 3 defeat to the Bills.

Offensively, the Cardinals were once again held scoreless in the first quarter and trailed 17-7 at halftime.

Carson Palmer completed 26-of-50 passes for 264 yards and four fourth-quarter interceptions.

Defensively, the Cardinals allowed 208 rushing yards and three touchdowns. LeSean McCoy scored twice and Tyrod Taylor once.

McCoy finished with 110 yards on 17 carries.

Special teams was a failure as well with the punter getting injured early in the game and another high snap by the long-snapper; the latter of which led to a Buffalo touchdown.

This marked the Bills’ (1-2) first win of the season.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, dropped to 1-2 and remained winless in Buffalo since 1971, their first-ever visit to Upstate New York.

THE GOOD

Held without a catch in his last game in Buffalo, Larry Fitzgerald caught a three-yard pass on 2nd-and-8 on the team’s second drive of the game to extend the league’s longest active streak and seventh-longest in NFL history to 182 consecutive regular games with at least one reception. Fitzgerald has now caught a pass in 188 of the 189 games he’s played in his career. The 189 games played, by the way, are tied for the fifth-most in franchise history.

Let the record show the Cardinals picked up their first first down with 9:33 to play in the second half. It occurred during the course of a 17-play, 84-yard scoring drive that eclipsed 9:34 off the clock. David Johnson capped the march up-and-down the field with a four-yard touchdown. Twice the Cardinals converted on third down via penalty, including an unnecessary roughness call on linebacker Jerry Hughes against Palmer.

First, Chandler Jones recorded his third sack in as many games late in the second quarter. Then, Markus Golden earned his third sack of the season late in the third quarter. They now join Bertrand Berry (2008) and Curtis Greer (1985) as the only players in franchise history to record at least one sack in each of the first three games of a season. Jones, by the way, now has six sacks in five career road games against the Bills. He had three on his last trip to Buffalo as a member of the Patriots.

Earlier in the game, the Cardinals decided against attempting a 54-yard field goal, but with the wind at their back in the second half, Chandler Catanzaro was sent out to try a 60-yarder. And he nailed it! It was a career long for him—and made the score 30-16 at the 10:36 mark of the fourth quarter—and one-yard short of matching the franchise record for longest-ever field goal, a mark Jay Feely holds. Feely connected on a 61-yarder against the Bills in 2012.

THE BAD

Just an awful start to the game for the Cardinals. Outscored 10-0 in the opening 15 minutes, the Cardinals gained a whopping two total yards on four possessions, each of which ended in 3-and-outs. Palmer was 1-of-7 for three yards. The Bills, meanwhile, had 142 yards, 48 of which belonged to McCoy. He carried four times including 24 yards for a score. The touchdown handed the Bills a 10-0 lead at the :55 mark of the first quarter.

Against the league’s 16th-best rushing defense, the Bills had gained 144 yards on the ground five minutes into the second quarter. The last five of those was McCoy running into the end zone. It was his second touchdown of the half with the score increasing the Bills lead to 17-0 at the 10:25 mark. To that point, McCoy had carried seven times for 79 yards. The Cardinals began the day allowing an average of 96.5 rushing yards per game.

High snap. Fumbled by the holder. Picked up by Aaron Williams and returned 53 yards for a touchdown. Quite the third-quarter sequence. The Cardinals go from 2nd-and-1 at the Buffalo 8 to 4th-and-6 at the Buffalo 13, and rather than at-worst a field goal, it’s a 10-point swing the other way. Kameron Canaday recorded another poor long-snap, his second in three games. Williams’ score increased the Bills’ lead to 30-7 at the 2:25 mark.

STAT OF THE GAME

5-of-15: The Cardinals converted only 33-percent of their third down opportunities.

HE SAID IT

“Talent is not the issue,” head coach Bruce Arians said. “It’s a matter of showing up on Sunday.”

NOTED

– Punter Drew Butler injured his left ankle in the first quarter; Catanzaro took over punting duties.

– Cornerback Marcus Cooper made his first start; Brandon Williams didn’t appear to play defense.

– The Cardinals have yet to score in the first quarter through three games, failing on eight possessions.

– Among the Cardinals inactives was right guard Evan Mathis (foot/toe), who did not make the trip.

UP NEXT

It’s back home for the Cardinals, and it’s the start of divisional play.

They host the Rams, who now make their home in L.A., on Sunday, Oct. 2. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:25 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning five hours earlier on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

The Cardinals have won four of the past five meetings, including the most recent matchup a year ago in St. Louis, 27-3. However, the last time the Rams visited University of Phoenix Stadium, they left with a victory, 24-22, snapping a two-game home winning streak in the series for Arizona.

Overall, the Cardinals lead the all-time series 37-36-2 dating back to 1937.

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Big Red Recap: Cardinals look lost in Buffalo