Shame on the Cardinals for being eliminated from the playoffs in the worst of ways

Shame on the Cardinals. In a sport full of cruelties, they are the cruelest teases of all. 

Eliminated in Carolina? 

No serious football team would dare. No fan base deserves to hear such hideous words in 2024. 

But that’s what the Cardinals coughed up on Sunday. With their playoff hopes on the line, they lost to a three-win team and one of the worst franchises in sports. They fumbled around and found out.   

There are many fingers to point. The Cardinals coaching staff harped all week about playing meaningful games in December. They stressed how they could not overlook the three-win Panthers, a team that was performing better than its record indicated. They talked about avoiding a trap and walked headfirst into one. 

   

Their first-quarter focus was an abomination. There were penalties, a botched handoff and numerous mental errors. Marvin Harrison Jr. made two of them in the first three plays, helping squander great field position to start the game. The first quarter spoke very poorly to the team leadership, particularly a coaching staff that could not command the room’s attention, which failed to prevent the second lackluster performance in the span of three weeks. 

In the coming offseason, there will be talk and much propaganda about how much the 2024 Cardinals improved in Year Two under Jonathan Gannon. Even if the Cardinals win their final two games and finish with a 9-8 record, the claims will ring hollow.

That’s because the Cardinals were 6-4 entering the bye week. They are 1-4 ever since, fading once again down the stretch. Their unconscionable loss to the Panthers robs the Valley of an impending showdown against the Rams in Los Angeles, a game that would’ve given the Cardinals a real crack at a division title and a home playoff game. A game that was slotted for primetime on Saturday night, providing Arizona spots fans with another shot at glory. 

Now, the game means nothing.  

Finally, the quarterback. Kyler Murray already has size issues. He cannot afford to shrivel anymore on a football field. But he’s done that consistently since the bye week, glitching out in big moments, and spoiling solid overall performances with inexplicable moments and decisions. 

Murray is capable of being an MVP candidate, a breathtaking dual threat, and one of the most compelling players in the NFL. He can also be infuriating, polarizing and incredibly bad. And that’s all in the span of one possession.   

The inconsistencies are maddening, and so is an offense built on checkdowns and bubble screens. 

For financial reasons, most of the sharp observers assume that Murray will be back for another go in 2025. But it will be really tough to peddle hope along with a significant hike in ticket prices when so much of the Valley has turned on our diminutive quarterback.  And it will be really tough to watch. 

It’s not a rarity for the Cardinals to be eliminated in Carolina. It happened twice in the playoffs during the Bruce Arians era, and both of those games stung badly. Except those were great Panthers teams that blocked our path to the Super Bowl. 

But today? Against Bryce Young’s Panthers? Robbing the fan base of a giant stage and a defining moment in LA? 

For shame. 

Reach Bickley at dbickley@arizonasports.com. Listen to Bickley & Marotta mornings from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. on Arizona Sports

Follow @danbickley