Rapid Reaction: Cardinals playoff hopes officially end in loss to Redskins

Phil Dawson one-upped his best game of the season from a week ago.

Unfortunately for the Arizona Cardinals, five field goals instead of four does not equate to winning results. After Dawson led the Cardinals to a 12-7 victory over the Tennessee Titans in Week 14, he kicked five field goals in a 20-15 road loss to the Washington Redskins on Sunday.

Here’s some quick reaction to the game from the staff of 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station and ArizonaSports.com.

Of course, you can get more reaction Monday starting at 6 a.m. with Doug & Wolf and continuing with The Blitz with Bertrand Berry & Mike Jurecki and Bickley & Marotta — who will both broadcast from the Cardinals practice facility in Tempe. Then, Burns & Gambo will wrap up the day’s analysis on your drive home from 2-6 p.m.

Vince Marotta, Co-host of Bickley & Marotta

It feels like the Cardinals could have played four more quarters against the Redskins and not scored a touchdown.

In fact, it’s been a long time since we saw anybody celebrate a touchdown — 153 minutes and 25 seconds to be exact. Arizona trekked inside the red zone six times against Washington and came away with five field goals. They had another opportunity in the game’s closing minutes from the 21-yard line and failed on four pass attempts. It’s really hard to win back-to-back games without scoring a TD, and that’s the biggest reason why the Cardinals fell, 20-15, at FedEx Field.

There are four elements that go into a passing game: play-calling, pass blocking, route running and catching, and of course, the throw. The makeshift offensive line, which struggled early, may have been the least of Arizona’s problems in the passing game. The play-calling was decent, but Blaine Gabbert was horrible completing 16-of-41 passes for 189 yards. Again, he didn’t get much help from his receivers, either, but his decision making and accuracy when forced out of the pocket was dreadful.

I’ve seen enough from Gabbert. He was a low-risk acquisition in May, but gave the Cardinals an opportunity to kick the tires to see if he’s closer to the 10th overall pick from 2011 or the quarterback that went 9-31 as a starter before getting to the desert. At best, Gabbert is a backup in this league and the Cardinals might be better served in bringing back Carson Palmer to start for another year and going out and drafting his heir apparent.

Craig Morgan, reporter

While watching (and dozing) through the Cardinals’ and Redskins’ field-goal fest, I amused myself with AZCardinals.com writer Kyle Odegard’s updated Phil Dawson tweets and some related research without the aid of the Elias Sports Bureau.

Phil Dawson has scored 30 consecutive points for the Cardinals, spanning three games. https://t.co/kOsTBm6DBt

— Kyle Odegard (@Kyle_Odegard) December 17, 2017

Dawson scored all of the Cardinals’ 15 points in a 20-15 loss Sunday, but he’s not even close to the NFL record for consecutive points scored by one player. If my research is correct, that honor goes to Chicago Cardinals back Ernie Nevers, who scored 59 straight over five days (Sunday/Thanksgiving Day) in 1929 — 19 against the Dayton Triangles and 40 against the Chicago Bears.

Yes, this is my Rapid Reaction to this game, which officially eliminated the Cardinals from playoff contention. Were you were expecting analysis?

Craig Grialou, reporter

It’s simple math: They score seven points, you score three points and you’re going to lose.

It’s also simple execution: Pass the football, catch the football. The Cardinals had difficulty with both this afternoon at FedExField and as a result, here they are again whiffing at an opportunity to win back-to-back games, something they still haven’t done this season.

How a Bruce Arians-coached offense has gone two full games without a touchdown scored and 10 straight quarters overall is inconceivable. Of course, we’re talking about an offense playing with its third-string quarterback, fourth-string running back and behind its seventh different offensive line combination. Oh, and a wide receiving corps that, outside of Larry Fitzgerald, can’t catch a pass.

Despite all of the above, the Cardinals put themselves in position to win the game. Several times. But when you settle for field goals rather than score touchdowns inside the red zone, you make it that much more difficult.

Two stats standout: 0-of-6 and 4-of-19. The Cardinals failed to score a touchdown on six trips inside the red zone and converted only four third downs, and none in the second half.

It’s no wonder why the Cardinals, with today’s loss, have been officially eliminated from the playoffs.

John Gambadoro, Co-host of Burns & Gambo

OK, that was tough to watch. The Cardinals’ inability to get into the end zone is mind-boggling.

Arizona ran 80 plays — that’s right 80 plays — and failed to score a touchdown. Arizona has now kicked 10 field goals since its last touchdown. The defense did enough to hold Washington in check and keep the Cardinals in the game. But Arizona just could not convert on third down (4-of-19) and had to settle for five Phil Dawson field goals.

Sometimes field goals are enough but this time it wasn’t. A huge turnover early — a sack and forced fumble on the Cardinals’ first possession — gave Washington the ball at the Arizona 6 and two plays later Kirk Cousins found Jamison Crowder for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. It was a lead that that Washington would not relinquish. In the first half alone, Arizona had four trips inside the Washington 20-yard line and failed to score a touchdown. The Cardinals ran 47 plays to just 16 for the Redskins, yet found themselves down 14-9.

Blaine Gabbert did not have a good game, proving once again he is nothing more than a backup in this league. Arizona receivers certainly didn’t help the quarterback’s cause as the second half saw key drops by J.J. Nelson, D.J. Foster and Troy Niklas. The Niklas drop was at the Redskins’ 1-yard line with 37 seconds left — it’s a ball that has to be caught.

There are no positives to come out of this game. Arizona lost. There are two games left in the season. It is and has been time to start looking at the draft, free agency and getting a slew of injured players healthy.

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