Disaster in the Desert: Cardinals Blow 18-Point Lead to Titans in Catastrophic Fashion

In what was supposed to be a potential bounce-back game after dropping two consecutive games to walk-off field goals, the Arizona Cardinals found another way to disappoint by blowing an 18-point lead to the then-winless Tennessee Titans in catastrophic fashion on Sunday. Just when Arizona fans thought that dropping back-to-back games to divisional opponents was bad enough, they once again got hit with another devastating loss, at home, to a then-winless opponent. At first, the Cardinals found a way to make their presence felt by having back-to-back touchdown drives in the first quarter. While the same success wasn’t had in the second quarter, Arizona still found a way to add another seven points to eventually go up 21-6 heading into halftime. From there, the collapse would begin. Despite Tennessee’s struggles throughout the game, it did not seem to matter when crunch time came about. In the end, the Titans found a way to battle through an immense amount of pressure to come away with their first win of the season, while the Cardinals fell below .500 for the first time this season.

First-Half Success Looked to Turn the Tide for Arizona

Heading into this matchup, the Cardinals looked to find early success against a Titans team that had been gutted by four consecutive losses to start the season. Especially its last game, when Tennessee was blanked by its division rival Houston Texans, 26-0, in Week Four. The same looked to be the case in the first quarter, as quarterback Kyler Murray helped lead the Arizona offense to two early scores. One player that Murray was able to connect with the most was wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who was having issues with keeping a high level of play, but didn’t have any problems by having 80 of his 98 yards in the first quarter.

The first touchdown came on a one-yard rush from running back Michael Carter, who had his first score of the season after spending a majority of the time on the team’s practice squad. With the recent injuries to the room, Carter had an opportunity to make his mark, and he did just that early on. The second score came from a 12-yard scramble from Murray, as he eluded multiple defenders to eventually find his way into the endzone. Then, following a forced fumble forced by the Cardinals' defense, third-string running back Zonovan “Bam” Knight scored on a one-yard rush of his own after just falling short on the play prior. Knight had worked his way to make the 53-man roster after having a strong preseason, but didn’t see much playing time as the team’s third-string tailback. Just like Carter, the recent injuries gave Knight a chance to shine, and he took it with a score in the second. As Arizona entered halftime, it had looked as if the team was in full control of pulling out with a win, but this is where it would all start to go very wrong.

Second-Half Collapse Leads to Walk-off Win for Tennessee

As previously mentioned, this half would be far from normal, as things would be set in motion very quickly. While the Titans would punt on their first drive, showing much of the same struggles that they’ve had not just for this game, but for the season, they would soon find themselves with an opportunity late in the third quarter. As the Cardinals began to drive the ball downfield following the punt, confusion by Murray and center Hjalte Froholdt caused the snap to hit Murray in the head, resulting in a loose ball on the field. Tennessee linebacker Dre’Mont Jones would fall on the loose ball, but the play would injure Murray, as he was forced to not only go to the medical tent, but also go to the locker room for a brief period of time. Fortunately for Arizona, Murray appeared to be good enough to come back into the game following a break in play, where backup tight end Tip Reiman had to be carted off the field with a leg injury. While the third quarter wouldn’t result in any points, the fourth quarter would be the time when chaos ensued.

After retaining possession from another forced Titans punt, the Cardinals looked to put away Tennessee for good with their first points of the half. At first, it would look like the game was going to be put out of reach for good, as running back Emari Demercado burst out for a 72-yard score, but it would not stay as he would eventually let the ball go right before he crossed the goalline, resulting in a touchback and possession for the Titans. This wild play would then give enough momentum to Tennessee’s struggling offense, in which it would only take six plays and 80 yards for quarterback Cam Ward and the Titans offense to put their first touchdown on the board with a running back Tony Pollard one-yard rush. A quick three-and-out from Arizona would give Tennessee another chance to claw back into the lead, and it would end up doing so, just in an odd fashion. Ward would go on to throw a costly interception to Cardinals safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, who would go on to fumble the ball, causing a ruckus for someone to jump on it, eventually leaving the ball in the endzone where Titans wide receiver Tyler Lockett would land on it for the Tennessee score. When watching this play unfold, I thought this was a football rendition of the Harlem Globetrotters, as this sequence was very comical and chaotic. Just like that, this game went from as much as an 18-point game to a two-point game late in the fourth quarter. With one final opportunity to put the game away for good, Murray and the Arizona offense would stall and give Ward his first opportunity in the NFL to lead a game-winning drive. Luckily for Titans fans, they were able to watch Ward orchestrate an 11-play, 71-yard drive to get kicker Joey Slye in range to kick a 29-yard field goal for their first win of the season. The Cardinals' perspective from this loss is complete and utter inexcusable play. I’m not sure what will happen between now and their next game, but some change has to be made, whether it is coaches having to be fired or players having to be benched; the constant disappointment has to end soon.