Arizona Cardinals Regular Season - Bengals 23

The Setup
"The Bengals were fighting for a playoff spot. So were the Cardinals (although prospects were less than "slim"). The Cardinals had pulled out another come-from-behind overtime squeaker vs. the Brownies the week before. The Bengals had beaten the Rams by margin of a single touchdown. The Bengs were 8 & 6; the Cards 7 & 7.

The Bottom Line:
Since Detroit won and Atlanta figures to win one of their last two games, we probably wouldn't have made the playoffs anyway, but I still walked away from this game with a more bitter taste in my mouth than any other game this year (because of the way we lost it). The actors in this semi-tragedy all performed as they had in the past - The Cards started off slow only to roar back in the second half. Skelton looked comatose early on, but made the plays he had to make late in the game. He wasn't helped much by the offensive Cardinal offensive line whose lack of pass protection almost got him killed early in the game. Fitz performed his usual heroics. Calais Campbell batted down more than his usual share of passes. The Cardinal ST units intimidated the Cincy kicker (Nugent) into missing 2 of 5 FG attempts. And give Cincy credit - Dalton was razor-accurate with his passes, Green was everything they said he was and Dalton's other receivers caught most of the difficult passes thrown their way. (Contrast this to the number of contested passes Cardinal receivers couldn't come up with).

The Lede
"Early Kills Us Late."

Game Recap
Typical Cardinal football game, only this time we came up one play short. The Cardinals came out looking like they weren't sure whether they wanted to get their uniforms dirty (You could see it in the way Jefferson got upended at the 12-yard line on the opening kickoff). The Bengals quickly built a 10 - 0 lead by the end of the opening quarter and expanded it to 20 - 0 by halftime and 23 - 0 by the end of the third quarter. But, true to form, the Cardinals came steaming back in the 4Q to post 16 unanswered points and reach the Bengal 17-yard line- 4th & 5 - with 1:18 left on the clock. QB John Skelton faded back and saw Early Doucet all alone at the half-yard line. He lofted a catchable "gimme" pass into the end zone, but Doucet fell victim of the Turf Monster,tangled up his feet and fell to the turf as the ball floated over his head untouched into the end zone. The Cards had one more shot at scoring at their 40 with 0:48 left and no timeouts but ran out of time at the Cincy 15. .

1st Quarter

Jefferson (in place of The Howler - who did appear later) returned the opening KO to the Cardinal 12. After being sacked for minus-11, Skelton threw the first of three interceptions. Cincy ball on the Cardinal 23. But they couldn't get past the Cardinal 6, and had to settle for a 24-yard Nugent field goal. Bengals 3 - Cards 0.
Jefferson returned the ensuing KO to the Cardinal 20. A (minus-9 yard) sack of Skelton on 3rd & 5 forced the Cardinals to go 3 & out. Zastudil's punt was returned to the Cardinal 49. A defensive pass interference penalty on Peterson put the ball on the Cardinal 28, and a few plays later, Dalton hit Gresham for an 11-yard score. (That didn't take long)! Bengals 10 - Cards 0.
Touchback on the KO. A 23-yard completion to Roberts helped move the Cards to their own 45, but Skelton got sacked for the third time (this time for minus-6) (Anyone think we don't need to upgrade our O-line?) and the Cards eventually punted from their own 48. Punt was fair caught at the Cincy 16. Dalton, his receiver and backup RB Scott picked up sizable chunks of steady yardage to move to the Bengal 46 before the quarter (mercifully) ended. 1st Quarter Score: Bengals 10 - Cards 0.

2nd Quarter

Cincy's drive stalled (after 2 incompletions) at the Cardinal 18 where Nugent then missed a 35-yard attempt and the Cards took over at their own 26. Caards went 3 & out (aided by a delay of game penalty on Skelton, but at least he didn't get sacked). Punt was downed at the Cincy 31. A roughing the passer flag on Dockett helped move Cincy to the Cardinal 33, but the defense stiffened (3 straight incompletions) and Nugents FG attempt from 48-yards was, once again, wide right. Cards took over on their own 38, but on the 6th play from scrimmage, Skelton was intercepted again. Cincy moved from their own 42 to the Cardinal 19 (with Dalton picking up a crucial 17 yards on a scramble to convert a 3rd & 1). Dalton then hit Simpson for a 19-yard TD (I'm not positive, but I think this was the now legendary "front flip" catch over DWash into the end zone). Are we having fun yet? Bengals 17 - Cards 0.
2:46 left til haltime. Jefferson returned the KO to the Cardinal 20, where it became "3 & Outsville." Zastudil's punt from the Cardinal 21 was O-O-B and a Cincy penalty gaved the Bengs the ball at their own 41 with 1:47 left til halftime.An interference penalty on Michal Adams helped move Cincy to the Cardinal 28, but a sack by Campbell (for minus-11) forced Cincy to attempt a FG from 41-yards with 0:03 on the clock. This time Nugent's attempt was good (Note - Cardinals were never in Cincy territory for the entire half). Halftime Score: Bengals 20 - Cards 0..

3rd Quarter

Tate returned the 2nd half KO to the Cincy 26, and they picked up a quick +22 on an end-around by Green (who has been everything they said he was). But the Card "D" stiffened and CIncy punted from the Cardinal 49. Fair caught at the AZ 19. Five plays later, Skelton was intercepted yet again (by Nelson) and Cincy took over on the Cardinal 48. But the Cardinal defense (heroically) forced a 3 & out. Touchback on the punt. One-two-three-punt! (with Skelton sacked for minus-6 during the series). Bengals returned the punt to their own 38. An interception by Peterson (who was injured on the play) was nullified by a roughing penalty on Adrian ("He Is Who He Is") Wilson. Four plays later, Darnell ("He Is Who He Is") Dockett was hit with a horse-collar penalty. Ball now on the Cardinal 21, but the Cardinal defense once again stiffened and held Cincy out of the end zone. But Nugent still was able to tack on another 3-pts - this time from 32 yards. Bengals 23 - Cards 0..
Jefferson returned the KO to the AZ 14. We made it all the way out to our own 41 before Skelton was sacked for minus-8. We eventally punted from our own 44. Fair catch at the Cincy 10. They ran Benson for +4 to end the quarter. (It's been three quarters now, and our offense still hasn't crossed midfield). Third Quarter Score: Bengals 23 - Cards 0.

4th Quarter

Defense held Cincy to 3 & out and they punted from their own 17. O-O-B at the Cardinal 39. A 20-yard completion to Doucet helped move the ball into Cincy territory for the first time. Several plays later, Skelton hit Fitz over the middle for a 30-yard score (Hmmm...Nah)! Bengals 23 - Cards 7.
11:25 still left to play. Cincy returned the KO to their own 25. On the fourth play from scrimmage, Adrian Wilson stripped the ball from Benson, and Rhodes (who had left the game due to injury only to return) recoverd. Cardinal at the Bengal 39 with 9:19 to go. Completions of +27 (to Doucet) and +10 (to Fitz) helped set up a 2-yard TD pass to King. Two-point conversion failed. Bengals 23 - Cards 13.
7:39 still left. Touchback on the KO. 3 & out! Punt (with 5-yard penalty on Cincy tacked on) put it on the Cardinal 21. A roughness penalty on Atkins (What's going on here? Did Santa Claus come early) moved the ball to the Cincy 40, where Skelton hit Fitzgerald for 39-yards to put the ball on the Bengal 1-yard line. But on the very first play from scrimmage, the snap was aborted (to me it looked like the handoff to Sherman was muffed) and the Cardinals recovered, but the ball was moved back to the Bengal 11. Cards couldn't punch it in and had to settle for a 29-yard Feely FG. Bengals 23 - Cards 16.
3:16 left.Touchback on the KO. On the first play from scrimmage, De Ja Vu all over again - Benson fumbled (forced by Campbell); Rhodes recovered. Cards ball on the Bengal 22 with 3:04 left. Skelton hit the Howler for +2, and then they ran Beanie off RT for +1 and then Fitz for +2. But on 4th & 5 at the Cincy 17, Skelton threw a gimme pass in the end zone to a wide-open uncovered Doucet, but the Cardinal WR got his feet tangled up, fell to the ground and watched Skelton's pass float over his head into the end zone incomplete.
Cincy ball at the Cardinal 17 with 1:12 left. A personal foul call moved Cincy back to their own 7. They went 3 & out and punted from their own 17. Roberts lost a yard returning the punt to the Cardinal 40 with 0:48 left to play. Final Sequence: To Roberts (+8), To Roberts (+10), Spike, To Wells (+8), To Roberts (+19). time ran out with the ball on the Cincy 15. Final Score: Bengals 23 - Cards 16.

Game Stats

(This one's worth repeating) - The Cardinal offense never crossed the midfield stripe into Cincy territory until early in the 4Q.
After a putrid start, Skelton wound up 23 for 44 and 297 yards with 2 TD's and 3 interceptions.
Beanie gained 53 yards on 14 carries..
Fitz and Roberts led Cardinal receivers with 6 catches apiece. Fitz picked up 105 yards and scored one TD. Roberts picked up 75 yards. Doucet, Heap and Chester Taylor had 2 catches each.
Cardinal run defense surrendered 165 net yards rushing to Cincy.
Cards gave away the ball three times (all on Skelton interceptions).
Cards intercepted no passes but recovered 2 key fumbles (both in the 4Q)
Skelton was sacked 5 times.
Cards had 2 sacks (by Acho and Campbell)
Penalties were even-up at 6 each.
Nugent missed 2 of 5 FG attempts (This cannot be due to pure coincidence - Cardinal ST kick blocking dudes must be having a psychological affect on enemy kickers).
31:29 to 28:31 Time of Possession edge to Cincy.

Bright Spots

Gutty performance by Kerry Rhodes.
Calais Campbell continues to make things happen - In addition to the sack and a forced fumble, I recall at least a couple of batted passes. .
The defense continues to play tough through adversity.
Fitz is so good it's easy to take him for granted (i.e. you expect Fitz to be Fitz)

The Dark Side

Lethargic effort to open the game (it's become a pattern).
The O-Line (gave up 5 sacks, countless pressures and instrumental in Skelton's 3 interceptions
Poor decisions by Skelton under pressure.
Granted, Doucet had a couple of 20-yard receptions at key points in the game, but how many catchable or contested balls did he fail to hang onto; and that final tangle-foot fiasco that cost us 7 was a killer. I have a lot of compassion for hard-workiing guys who fall victims to The God of Bad Breaks, but I must tell you that - for the good of the team - my patience runs thin when certain players seem to be chronically "unlucky." (As Branch Rickey once said - "Luck is the residue of design" and another unnamed dude used to say: "The harder I work, the luckier I get"). Doucet's "bad luck" has cost us more than one game. It may be time for us to look to other WR's with "better luck." (I'm just sayin').
I get the feeling that the attitude copped by A-Dub and Nine-Oh! is that taking a roughing penalty or two "comes with the territory" and they'll continue to do what they do -regardless. Not if it's going to cost us football games, dudes - C'mon! Play smarter.
PP21's injury - costs us a DB, a return threat and makes us nervous about the severity of his Achilles injury.

Last Word:
This defeat hurts more than most - mostly because of how close we came and way we blew the last minute opportunity, but also because we played the game on a Saturday and I have all of the Sunday papers on Christmas Day to read all about Early's goof and Simpson's somersault.

One game left - next Saturday vs.Seattle, at our place & with a chance to go 8 & 8. Aside from all that, I've been in one-game-at-a-time mode throughout the dog days of this season and will continue to be there. I just want to see more Cardinal players make big plays (& fewer players making dumb plays) - positive enough for us to defeat our division rivals.

Happy Holidays, everybody!

The Big Red Sheet web site is not the official web site nor do we represent the official views of the Arizona Cardinals Football Club or National Football League. We are a forum for various input and opinions from a broad variety of sources, and our content will most likely will be a combination of fact, opinion and hearsay. While we will take reasonable precautions to avoid inaccuracies or misstatements and will issue corrections or retractions if warranted, we will not assume responsibility for the type of minor unintentional inaccuracies that are a natural part of web site publishing.

Click here with questions or comments about the Cardinals or this web site.