After a tough loss for the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3 against the Detroit Lions, Kliff Kingsbury was looking for a win from his team. After such success in the first two weeks of the season, the loss last week just seemed like an off day, but the Cardinals’ performance in Week 4 showed that wasn’t the case.
First Half
The Arizona Cardinals looked frazzled from the very beginning of the game. Kyler Murray missed a wide-open pass to Larry Fitzgerald, which was almost intercepted. After a short Cardinals drive, Andy Lee came out to punt. His punt was tipped, which gave the Panthers great field position. After several missed defensive plays, the Carolina Panthers had their first score of the day with a one-yard touchdown run by Mike Davis, putting them on top 7-0.
The Cardinals struggled again on their next drive of the game, giving the Panthers another opportunity at the ball. Teddy Bridgewater had an 18-yard touchdown run to put the Carolina Panthers even further in the lead with a score of 14-0. After the second Panthers touchdown, the Cardinals had a three and out drive, which was not helping their momentum. However, on the Carolina Panthers next drive, Teddy Bridgewater threw an interception to Patrick Peterson. The Cardinals finally felt a bit of a momentum switch.
Fortunately for the Cardinals, the offense was able to turn their first interception of the season into some points. Kyler Murray connected with tight end Jordan Thomas to cut the Panthers lead in half, 14-7 with Carolina still on top. Although the Cardinals were able to finally put points on the board, their defense continued to struggle. Before the half was up, the Panthers were able to find their way to the end zone yet again for a 21-7 lead.
Second Half
After the half, the Arizona Cardinals had a promising drive downfield, and things were starting to look up for the offense. In a split second, that changed. Kyler Murray had the ball stripped away, allowing the Carolina Panthers to recover it. Upset after upset for the Cardinals.
After the turnover, the Cardinals defense continued to struggle. Haason Reddick was called for a pass interference call in the end zone, which resulted in another touchdown for the Panthers. Yes, ANOTHER touchdown was given up by the Cardinals defense, Panthers lead 28-7.
The game certainly was far from over though and the Cardinals lit a fire under themselves. Kyler Murray had a 48-yard run to put the team in great position. Murray connected with Christian Kirk for the second Cardinals touchdown of the day, 28-14.
More struggles continued for the Cardinals defense as they let up more points. Luckily this time, it was only a 27-yard field goal that they allowed, but still gave more points to the Panthers now up 31-14 after an 8 minute drive.
Nearing the end of the fourth quarter, the Cardinals offense was finally able to find their way to the endzone. Chase Edmonds’ touchdown brought the Cardinals within 10 with just about 2 minutes remaining. Panthers still up 31-21.
Unfortunately for Cardinals fans, that was the extent of their scoring for the day and the team suffers its second loss of the season. It’s tough to know whether the team has had a few off weeks that resulted in losses, or if the first two wins were potentially the flukes. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out for the Arizona Cardinals. Next week’s game against the New York Jets will be a telltale sign of the way the Cardinals will continue to play.
For more NFL coverage, click here.
