The Arizona Cardinals lost another tough matchup against the NFC West rival San Francisco 49ers, falling 36-26 in Week 11.
With the win, the 49ers improved to 9-1 on the season and continued their dominance in the NFC. The Cardinals fell to 3-7-1 in a disappointing but encouraging season.
The Cardinals’ latest loss is a heartbreaking one, but there were still some moments of positivity that they can build from. Here are the good, the bad and the ugly moments from Sunday:
The good: The Cardinals have the ability to start fast
The Cardinals faced long odds against a tough 49ers defense. However, they had the Niners on the ropes early.
Arizona was up 16-0 in the first quarter. They started off strong with a 67-yard yard drive which ended in a 26-yard Zane Gonzalez field goal. Quarterback Kyler Murray showed command of the offense, orchestrating two touchdown drives of 81 and 57 yards.
The Cardinals would end up with 224 yards of offense in the first half. Not a bad start to the day.
The bad: The Cardinals still can’t cover opposing tight ends
The Cardinals are beginning to make stars out of anyone at the tight end position.
Arizona has been by far the worst team in the league at defending tight ends. The Cardinals have now allowed a league-high 12 touchdowns, 70 receptions and 846 yards to the tight end position.
San Francisco 49ers tight end Ross Dwelley helped to add to that total with two touchdowns on the day. Dwelley appeared to almost be uncovered on his touchdowns, and the Cardinals defense looked lost on their assignments in the red zone.
This now marks the third consecutive game that a tight end has scored a touchdown. The Cardinals take on the Los Angeles Rams in two weeks, and Rams tight end Gerald Everett (35 receptions, 385 yards and two touchdowns on the year) could very well see the end zone.
The ugly: The Cardinals can not finish close games
Being a Cardinals fan these days should come with complimentary blood pressure medication.
The Cardinals started off hot and looked to be a part of the biggest upset of the week if they beat the 49ers. However for the second week in a row, Arizona failed to close it out.
The Cardinals had a prime opportunity to seal the game after Kyler Murray’s 22-yard touchdown run with 6:30 left in the fourth quarter gave them a 26-23 lead. The defense got a huge fourth-quarter interception of 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo with 4:32 left. The Cardinals could not take advantage as two uninspiring runs from running back Kenyan Drake, followed by a sack of Murray, led to a punt. The 49ers scored on their very next possession, with 31 seconds left in the game.
This is the second game in a row in which the Cardinals have given up the eventual game-winning touchdown, the last being against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where they would score the go-ahead touchdown to win 30-27.
The Cardinals’ season has been rife with encouraging signs of a bright future ahead, but in the end they have continued to not capitalize on these encouraging situations and put some victories in the record books.
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