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Notes from the Nest: Cardinals vs. Redskins

Dec 4, 2016, 2:27 PM | Updated: 5:37 pm

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer (3) warms up prior to an NFL football game against the ...

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer (3) warms up prior to an NFL football game against the Washington Redskins, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

GLENDALE, Ariz. — And then there were two.

The Cardinals are down to their penultimate home game, provided of course they do not host a playoff game this season. Given that they are 4-6-1 and shooting for an NFC Wild Card berth, at best, the odds of that happening are quite slim.

But if the Cardinals are to have a chance at playing a postseason game anywhere, they pretty much have to beat the Washington Redskins Sunday.

Washington, at 6-4-1, is ahead of the Cardinals in the playoff race, and a loss to them would all but end Arizona’s chances with four games left.

Tyrann Mathieu is out for the Cardinals while tight end Jordan Reed will not play for the Redskins. Both teams need a win — Washington won the toss and chose to defer, so Cardinals will get the ball first.

Here we go.


:41 left in fourth quarter

With the Redskins at the Arizona 28, pressure forces a bad Cousins pass that a diving Patrick Peterson appears to intercept. He does just that, and the Cardinals are going to escape with a 31-23 win.

1:22 left in fourth quarter

A roughing the passer penalty on Calais Campbell gives Washington the ball at their own 43 instead of facing a third-and-long. An incompletion on first down makes it second down, because that’s how this game works.

Still 1:56 left in fourth quarter

Kickoff is a touchback and Redskins will start at their 25. They have two timeouts and 75 yards to go, with a 2-point conversion on top of that. Can Arizona’s defense, finish this one off?

1:56 left in fourth quarter

So what do the Cardinals do? Take to the air, where Palmer throws a deep dime to JJ Nelson for a 42-yard touchdown. What a throw, what a catch, what a…play call? They’re all great when the work, right?

Catanzaro’s PAT is good, and the Cardinals are up 31-23.

2:03 left in fourth quarter

A pass to Johnson left the Cardinals inches from the first down, but instead of punting, the Cardinals went for it. It was a gutsy call that paid off as Johnson picked up 14 yards on fourth down — putting him over 1,000 for the season and letting the Cardinals continue. So then of course, the Cardinals take to the air, and get bailed out by a defensive hold on a third-down pass to Fitzgerald.

As of now, The Cardinals are at the Washington 42. It’s second down, and the Redskins just burned their first timeout of the half.

4:32 left in fourth quarter

A short run by Johnson and a quick pass to Fitzgerald leaves the Cardinals with a third-and-three. It’s a big play coming up — so big that Arizona burned a timeout to get it right — as with the way Washington has moved the ball, last think you want is to give it right back to them.

6:01 left in fourth quarter

Redskins move down the field fairly easily, but Arizona defense stiffens and Washington is forced to attempt a 53-yard field goal. Hopkins is good from there, and the score is now 24-23, Cardinals. We’ve got a close one.

Arizona’s offense, however, essentially has a chance to win the game here. They’ll start at their own 25.

Still 11:09 left in fourth quarter

Washington starts at its 25 and if the Cardinals’ defense was going to get a stop, this would be a good drive to do it.

11:09 left in fourth quarter

A quick pass to David Johnson, who makes a man miss and then is gone for the touchdown. He scores from 25 yards out, and with the PAT the Cardinals are up 24-20.

11:25 left in fourth quarter

Larry Fitzgerald picks up five on a quick pass and the Cardinals are at the Washington 25 with second down coming up. This has been a good drive, with Palmer doing well on short passes and a good run from David Johnson mixed in.

12:47 left in fourth quarter

Cardinals are moving as a pass to Jermaine Gresham picked up a first after he was curiously flagged for holding a couple plays prior. On that play, Gresham was going out for a screen pass and appeared to himself be held, yet the flag was on him.

End of third quarter

Palmer hits Fitzgerald for a short gain on third down, but it’s enough for a first and when play resumes the Cardinals will have a fresh set of downs at their own 35, trailing 20-17.

1:06 left in third quarter

And just like that, the Redskins are back on top. The big play on the drive was a 28-yard pass from Cousins to Pierre Garcon on third down, and after that a Chris Thompson run put Washington in range and on another third down, Cousins hit a wide open Jamison Crowder for a 26-yard touchdown. Looked like a coverage breakdown for the Cardinals as no one was near him on the play.

With the PAT, Washington is back on top 20-17.

Still 4:10 left in third quarter

The Redskins have lost a couple of offensive linemen to injury, and the last turnover may be a result of that. They will get the ball back at their 25, now trailing, with a Cardinals defense that may be finding new life for its pass rush.

4:10 left in third quarter

A short run was followed by an incomplete pass, and on third down Palmer waits for Larry Fitzgerald to clear out just enough room to open up a window for Michael Floyd. The QB’s pass is on the money and the receiver caught it for the touchdown. It was a nice throw and good catch. The PAT was good, and the Cardinals retake the lead at 17-13.

5:01 left in third quarter

On first down Calais Campbell gets to Cousins, sacking him and forcing a fumble that bounces far away until Markus Golden picked it up. He returned it 20 yards to the Washington 10, and the Cardinals should be in business.

5:34 left in third quarter

Cardinals move down the field with a handful of passes, including some to David Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald and even Michael Floyd. However, on third down Palmer is sacked by Trent Murphy for a loss of 10, which put Arizona on the Washington 35. Chandler Catanzaro came on and pushed a 53-yard field goal attempt wide right — his first miss since OT against Seattle — and the Redskins take over at their own 43 with the lead and momentum.

Still 12:36 left in third quarter

Kickoff is a touchback and Arizona takes over at its 25 trailing for the first time today.

12:36 left in third quarter

Redskins get the ball to start the half and march right down the field, with a 59-yard pass from Cousins to Jackson being the big one. The receiver beat Tyvon Branch on the play, and while he wasn’t open by much, he was open enough. Cardinals nearly pulled off another stand, until Cousins snuck the ball in from a yard out on third down. The PAT was good, and now the score is Washington 13, Arizona 10.

Halftime

Redskins fumbled the kickoff but somehow recovered, as the Cardinals were almost gifted a shot at another three points. Anyway, with a kneel down that does it for the first half. Arizona is up 10-6 and has played OK — not great, but fine, I guess.

:07 left in second quarter

Arizona got to the 10 and on third down, Palmer’s pass to Michael Floyd in the corner of the end zone is broken up by Josh Norman. Norman is having a great half, by the way.

Catanzaro comes in and drills a 28-yard field goal, so the Cardinals — barring something crazy here — will enter the half with a 10-6 lead.

:29 left in second quarter

Cardinals get a bad break when Josh Norman sacks Palmer, though on the play the CB smacked Palmer in the helmet for what should have been a penalty, though none was called. Next play has Palmer hitting David Johnson down the middle for 22 yards, and Arizona is at the Washington 18.

1:29 left in second quarter

A 23-yard pass from Palmer to Fitzgerald got the Cardinals near midfield, and then after a drop by Jermaine Gresham, an eight-yard pass to David Johnson put them in Washington territory. They are now facing a third-and-2 from the Washington 43 after spending their first timeout of the half.

Arizona’s offense had done nothing since its opening drive, so coming up with points here entering the half would be a good thing.

1:52 left in second quarter

Washington throws a fade to DeSean Jackson, and not surprisingly, it didn’t work. Not sure why teams go to that play on third downs or two-point conversion settings. Odds of success seem low, so why not something else?

Anyway, Hopkins is brought out for another field goal, which he makes from 20 yards out. Score is now 7-6, Cardinals.

2:00 left in second quarter

Redskins got to the Arizona one and then an illegal shift put them at the six. Tony Jefferson missed a tackle on Vernon Davis, which allowed the tight end to reach the one again. A Rob Kelley run went for no gain, and it’s now third-and-goal from the one.

7:04 left in second quarter

Kelley runs for three yards and there is a Washington injury on the play. It was center Spencer Long, so we’ll see how that impacts the visitors’ offensive line.

7:18 left in second quarter

A pass interference on Michael Floyd negates a pass to Fitzgerald, and at that point the drive was over. Drew Butler’s punt was “good” for 28 yards, and for that he was showerd with either “boos” or “Drewws” from the crowd. I guess I can’t be sure which.

Anyway, Washington takes over at the Arizona 48.

Still 9:48 left in second quarter

Kickoff sails out of the end zone and Arizona will begin at its 25. The offense, which got off to a great start, has stalled a bit.

9:48 left in second quarter

Washington marched down the field as holes were opening up for Robert Kelley, though the big play was a 21-yard dump-off to Chris Thompson. Another false start with a 3rd-and-6 looming made things tougher on the Redskins, and then the pass rush forced an incomplete pass from Cousins.

Dustin Hopkins was called on and he delivered a 47-yard field goal, and the score is now 7-3, Cardinals.

14:00 left in second quarter

Cardinals got the first when Palmer hit Larry Fitzgerald for 14 yards. Then, on first down, Arizona lined up in the wildcat formation with Kerwynn Williams as the QB, only to change the play and have Palmer line up in his usual spot. He then almost threw an interception — a good throw probably would have been picked — then a short run was followed by an incomplete pass off of John Brown’s hands. Was not an easy catch, but one he could have made.

Drew Butler’s punt goes for 50 yards and is returned to the Washington 31.

End of first quarter

A false start on John Wetzel pushed the Cardinals back more, and a couple of David Johnson runs have the Cardinals facing a third-and-nine from their own 9. Not a great spot to be in, to be sure.

However, Arizona is up 7-0, which is not a bad spot to be in. So there’s that.

1:01 left in first quarter

Washington gets to midfield after a nice run from Robert Kelly, but then Arizona started making plays. Chandler Jones batted away a pass that looked like, if completed, could have gone for a long gain, and then Calais Campbell knocked one in the air that he almost picked when, though he couldn’t find the ball, it almost just landed in his hands. Cousins’ pass on third down was incomplete, the punt — with a hold on Arizona — sets the Cardinals up at their own 8.

3:25 left in first quarter

Cardinals go nowhere, with Washington’s defense coming up strong with a pass breakup on a pass to Michael Floyd and then pressure on Palmer to force a throwaway on third down. Drew Butler’s punt is returned 10 yards to the Washington 25.

4:23 left in first quarter

Washington picks up nine on first down but then back-to-back false starts send them in reverse, and then on third down Kevin Minter just crushes Cousins for a sack. Patrick Peterson returns the ensuing punt to the Arizona 41, and the Cardinals look good early.

6:37 left in first quarter

Washington returns the kick to the 24, which is where Kirk Cousins and one of the best offenses in the league will go to work. Last week, after scoring on drive one, the Cardinals couldn’t shut the Falcons down. Interested to see how they come out now, after once again being granted an early lead.

6:43 left in first quarter

Cardinals line up in the pistol on second down and Palmer once again hands it to Johnson, who finds a hole and gets the ball across the goal line for the touchdown. Catanzaro’s PAT was good, and the Cardinals are up 7-0. It’s the second straight week they have scored a TD on their opening drive.

7:53 left in first quarter

Cardinals have it first and goal at the one after Palmer hit Jermaine Gresham on third down. Cardinals go with their big personnel, and David Johnson is stuffed for no gain on first down.

10:40 left in first quarter

Cardinals are moving down the field mostly using David Johnson. He has run well and caught a third-down pass that went for a first. Arizona is at the Washington 29 and survived a scare when Johnson fumbled after a long run but the ball was recovered by Mike Iupati.

15:00 left in first quarter

Kickoff sails out of the end zone and Cardinals will start on their 25. Arizona scored on its opening possession last week — would recommend doing so again today.

 

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