Rapid reactions: Cardinals snatch defeat from the jaws of victory
Dec 28, 2024, 10:44 PM | Updated: Dec 29, 2024, 9:07 am
The Cardinals had all the chances in the world to beat the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday, but two key fourth-quarter interceptions shut the door on a late surge, with Arizona taking a 13-9 loss.
Kyler Murray’s top two receiving options, Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr., had some of their best performances of the season in the loss, with McBride picking up his first receiving touchdown of the season.
Harrison Jr., meanwhile, had his most yards in a game (96 yards) since Week 8 (111).
The defense also played admirably, allowing just 13 points and three in the second half. It couldn’t, however, get home to Matthew Stafford for a sack.
Reaction from our staff to Cardinals’ loss to Rams
John Gambadoro, co-host of Burns & Gambo: The Cardinals snatched defeat right from the jaws of victory.
Arizona came into this game on the heels of being eliminated last week in a loss at Carolina. The Rams had everything to play for because with a win tonight they would likely wrap up the NFC West tomorrow following the outcome of several games. Had the Rams lost that would have set up a winner take all game next week for them against Seattle.
And here we were with under a minute to play and the Cardinals at the Rams 5-yard line. Victory seemed inevitable. Arizona had gone tit for tat with the Rams all game and after forcing a Rams punt (following a terrible decision by Kamren Kinchens to intercept a Kyler Murray fourth-down pass from the LA 40 at the 11-yard line), the Cardinals had the ball at their own 36 with two minutes to go and two timeouts.
Murray picked the Rams defense apart with throws to Carter, McBride and Harrison Jr. and was at the 5-yard line with 38 seconds left. But as has gone the season for Murray he threw a pass intended for McBride that deflected off his helmet and into the diving hands of Ahkello Witherspoon.
And just like that 8-8 turned into 7-9, and the Cardinals suffered their fifth loss in the past six games. A once promising season where Arizona was 6-4 in first place and in control of its destiny has come crashing down.
To the Cardinals’ credit they battled hard tonight. They played outstanding defense and really shut down Matthew Stafford and the Rams running game. They just couldn’t make enough plays on offense to reward that outstanding defensive effort.
Murray threw for 321 yards, McBride had 12 catches for 123 yards and his first receiving touchdown. Even Harrison Jr. had a good game with 6 catches for 96 yards. But this team just struggles to find the end zone. One more to play before the long-hard work begins this offseason of addressing the issues that have plagued this team this season.
Tyler Drake, lead Cardinals reporter and co-host of Cardinals Corner: Things I liked: Trey McBride, Marvin Harrison Jr. and the defense’s effort in a game that really didn’t matter for the Cardinals.
Things I didn’t like: Just about everything else.
In what’s become commonplace for the Cardinals across most of the second half of the season, Arizona’s offense was inconsistent outside of tight end Trey McBride.
Murray again failed in the non-negotiables department, turning the ball over twice in the final quarter. The last one was easily the toughest to watch, with the quarterback firing a ball off McBride’s helmet and into the hands of a Rams defender in the end zone to seal the loss.
It wasn’t just on the signal caller, with a patchwork offensive line and penalties causing issues, but a lot of this one falls on Murray in my opinion.
There’s one game left to play. Can the Cardinals (specifically the offense) give fans something to hold onto hope-wise as they head to the offseason?
Jesse Morrison, assistant producer of Wolf & Luke: Despite a 13-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, there were some positives that cannot be ignored.
Trey McBride continued to show he might be the best tight end in the NFL and it was nice to see him finally snag a receiving touchdown.
Marvin Harrison Jr. had one of his best games, catching six passes for 96 yards. His contested catch in the first quarter was especially impressive. He will be fine, just be patient.
Other positives included running back Michael Carter’s 70 yards on 13 carries, Darius Robinson’s performance and Max Melton’s pass breakup to prevent a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
A loss is a loss and Kyler Murray’s two interceptions were not great. However, the eliminated Cardinals showed fight and the young players showed enough flashes to feel positive about the team moving forward.
