Cardinals Fail to Finish Another Close Game Against the Bucs

The Cardinals have a problem. They can not seem to finish games offensively. Today was another example of that. The Cardinals lost a close game to the Buccaneers 20-17 in the last couple of seconds of the game. At this point, the Cardinals now have zero wins and four losses in games decided by four points or less. They have no shot at the playoffs anymore. These games are getting difficult to watch for Cardinals’ fans.

Turnovers Need to Stop

Football is a game of mistakes. The fewer mistakes you make, the higher the chance you’ll win. Turnovers are mistakes. The Cardinals turned the ball over two times, and the Buccaneers did not turn it over at all. Jacoby Brissett was on the Bucs’ 29 when he threw an interception. That interception eliminated three points that the Cardinals needed. Then, later in the game, Zonovan Knight fumbled the ball from Arizona’s 42. Good teams don’t turn the ball over that frequently.

The Last Sequence

With two minutes to go, the Cardinals had one more chance to score after the Bucs punted it back to them. The score was now 20-17. The Cardinals ran a couple of short pass plays but could not stop the clock. The Bucs played outside leverage to prevent the Cardinals from going out of bounds, as they only had one timeout left. After three unsuccessful plays, it was fourth and two with 55 seconds left. Jacoby Brissett threw an incomplete pass, and then the game was over.

Stats

Jacoby Brissett completed 29 passes out of 40 attempts with two touchdowns and an interception. Baker Mayfield completed 18 passes out of 28 attempts with a touchdown. Zonovan Knight had 11 carries for 62 yards. Bucky Irving had 17 carries for 61 yards and a touchdown. Trey McBride had eight receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown. Chris Godwin Jr. had three receptions for 78 yards.

The Cardinals’ problem with finishing games has not gotten any better. They can not seem to do enough to win. With the playoffs out of the door, Cardinals fans just want to see something that gives them hope for next year. They have not seen it yet.