Third-down struggles plague Cardinals in season-opening loss

GLENDALE, Ariz. — When an opposing team faces a third down at University of Phoenix Stadium, public address announcer Jim Barnett gets the crowd going.

“Third down!” Barnett bellows, with ominous bells chiming over the newly-upgraded sound system.

The energy in the building is palpable and often helps contribute to a defensive stop.

But that third-down energy had no effect on Jimmy Garoppolo and the New England Patriots on Sunday night.

Garoppolo, making his first NFL start in relief of the suspended Tom Brady, guided the Patriots to an efficient, if unspectacular offensive performance in a 23-21 season-opening win. New England converted 10-of-16 third-down opportunities, including three on a fourth-quarter drive that ended in a Stephen Gostkowski field goal that gave them the lead for good with 3:44 remaining in the game.

“They were 10-of-16 on third down,” Arizona head coach Bruce Arians said. “I thought that was the whole game. We could not get off the field on third down.”

The last three conversions turned out to be absolute killers for the Cardinals. On 3rd-and-15 from the New England 20, Garoppolo hit Danny Amendola on a 32-yard completion to the Arizona 48.

Three plays later, the third-year man connected with James White on a 7-yard completion on 3rd-and-3. And then, on 3rd-and-11 on the edge of field goal range, Garoppolo handed off to LeGarrette Blount, who surprised the Cardinals’ defense around the right end for 13 yards.

New England head coach Bill Belichick was pleased with the execution from his first-time starter.

“The 3rd-and-15 was a big play,” he said. “We made it look like we were trying to set up a screen. They kind of played the screen. Fortunately, that took away some of the pass rush and Jimmy was able to scramble. As usual, Danny came up big for us — he made a big catch down there and took a hard hit.”

Belichick also lauded Blount’s hard-nosed run.

“LG made a good run. He had some space in there and it looked like he broke a couple tackles. He was short of the first down and he dropped his pads and got it, so that was a big run.”

Cardinals money linebacker Deone Bucannon, who had five tackles on the night, said New England’s success on third down was a key contributor to the win.

“Of course it tires us out, but that is our fault,” he said. “We just need to get off the field on third down, that’s a big down. They always had a manageable third down. We just need to do better on first and second down.”

The Cardinals ranked eighth in the NFL in third-down defense last season when they held opponents to a 35.7 percent conversion rate.

Arizona will have another opportunity to improve on third downs next Sunday when it hosts the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at UOP Stadium. In case you’re wondering, the Bucs converted only 3-of-10 chances Sunday but were still able to beat Atlanta, 31-24.

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