azdad1978
Championship!!!!
Four turnovers on their first five possessions and a kickoff return for a touchdown negated a solid defensive effort as the Cardinals came up short in a 17-13 loss to Washington before 46,654 fans—the largest home crowd for Arizona this year.
“This one hurts worse,” Card head coach Dennis Green lamented. “St. Louis, Carolina, Jacksonville and this one are all pretty much the same. One more stop, take away one return, score a touchdown instead of a field goal—all four of those games are exactly alike.”
Green was referring to earlier home-field losses to St. Louis 17-12, Carolina 24-20, and Jacksonville 24-17, all games the Cardinals had a chance to win down the stretch.
Today, the Arizona defense intercepted Washington’s Mark Brunell three times, allowed just 109 rushing yards and 231 yards overall, and forced three punts in the pivotal fourth quarter.
“Huge credit to our defense in the way they played and the things they did to get it done,” commented Card quarterback Kurt Warner. “I am just disappointed that we couldn’t make the plays to win.”
Card safety Adrian Wilson echoed Warner’s sentiment. “It is all for naught because we lost. That is the only thing that matters. Stats are stats but all the counts is the win of loss column.”
Warner finished the game with 25 completions in 41 attempts for 255 yards and one touchdown, with Anquan Boldin his primary target with nine receptions for 114 yards. Boldin vaulted over the 1,000-yard receiving mark to join teammate Larry Fitzgerald in the 1,000-yard category, only the second time in franchise history two players gained 1,000 receiving yards in the same season (Rob Moore and Frank Sanders, 1997.)
But the Card running game added just 62 yards as both J.J. Arrington and Marcel Shipp each lost fumbles.
“We hadn’t turned the ball over and fumbled it much,” reflected Green. “I don’t know when the last time we’ve had running backs get his and fumble it. That was an intense game.”
The score at the end of the first quarter was 0-0, but there was plenty of action in the opening period as the first five possessions resulted in five turnovers by the two clubs.
“It was a hard-hitting game,” Green added. “I think we laid it on them a few times and they gave it up, and we gave it up a few times. I think it was a very physical game. I think when that happens, you’re going to have some turnovers. Our defense played a very physical, hard-nosed game, limited them on the run and on the pass, and when you do that you really should win the ballgame.”
The Cards drove to midfield with the opening possession of the game, but Warner’s third and seven pass for Fitzgerald was intercepted by Sean Taylor near midfield. Washington gave the ball right back when Brunell’s pass to tight end Chris Cooley was tipped and intercepted by Card safety Antrel Rolle in his first action in 11 weeks due to a knee injury suffered at Seattle.
“Antrel played well,” Green said of Rolle’s return to play. “He got his hands on the ball a couple of times, he was physical a couple of times. It was good to see a guy work his butt off to come back in and play.”
Arizona, however, coughed up the ball once again when Warner was stripped on a sack as Washington defensive back Pierson Prioleau recovered at the Cardinal 44 yard line.
Rolle nearly had this second interception of the game, but an illegal contact call negated the play and gave Washington a first down at the Card 15-yard line, only to have David Macklin make a diving interception at the goal line and bring the ball out to the 18-yard line.
In keeping with the theme of the game, Arizona fumbled the ball right back to Washington when Arrington was stripped on a run up the middle, giving the Redskins possession at the 23-yard line. Washington put a stop to the turnover madness with a 41-yard John Hall field goal with 10 seconds gone in the second period for a 3-0 Redskin lead.
Reggie Swinton’s 31-yard kickoff return gave Arizona the ball at its own 35-yard line. Warner hit Bryant Johnson for 12 yards on a third and two, crossing midfield to the Redskins 45-yard line. Warner then found Fitzgerald for 11 yards to the 34, Shipp burst up the middle for 11 more, and then Boldin’s 13-yard grab gave Arizona a first down at the seven yard line. On third and two, Warner capped a 12-play, 65-yard scoring drive when he hit Leron McCoy on a quick slant to give the Cards a 7-3 lead with 8:27 to play in the second quarter.
The fifth turnover of the game reared its head on Washington’s next possession when Card safety Adrian Wilson picked off Brunell at the two-yard line, and his return coupled with a late hit give Arizona the ball at the Redskin 47-yard line with 1:49 left in the first half.
Card kicker Neil Rackers, still not fully recovered from an injury to his left calf, converted a 44-yard field goal with 1:06 remaining in the half to push the Card lead to 10-3 at intermission.
With the second half kickoff, Washington drove 80 yards in 13 plays, capped by a 15-yard scoring run by Clinton Portis to tie the game at 10-10, a drive which featured a fourth-and-one conversion by the Redskins and later a 15-yard facemask penalty on Wilson.
Arizona took the lead when they drove 71 yards in 11 plays for a 20-yard Rackers field goal and 13-10 advantage with 3:34 left in the third quarter. That lead was short-lived, however, when Redskin Antonio Brown returned the ensuing kickoff 91 yards for a back-breaking touchdown and a 17-13 Washington advantage.
“I think they hit it flush,” Green said of the touchdown return. “I think we had way too many guys on the wrong side of the ball. Their guy never broke stride. The kick was low and short, but six out of 10 guys did a poor job.”
The first quarter was laden with turnovers, and the bulk of the fourth quarter featured five punts, the last which gave the Cardinals one final chance to pull out the win. With the ball on the 41-yard line at the 4:13 mark, a pass interference call on Washington moved the ball to the Redskin 33-yard line with 3:33 to play. A nine-yard pass from Warner to Boldin set up a third-and one for Arizona, but a lateral pass to Fitzgerald lost one yard and the Cardinals faced a fourth and two. But there was no magic left as Arrington was stopped short on a sweep around left end and Washington ran out the clock for the 17-13 win.
“I think this was the type of game that if we did a little better job coaching, we could’ve won,” Green told reporters. “If we’d made a few more catches, we could’ve won. If we had a little better protection—it’s all us together who have to produce. That’s how this game was like the other four games. We needed one more thing, and we would’ve had a chance to win the ball game.”
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“This one hurts worse,” Card head coach Dennis Green lamented. “St. Louis, Carolina, Jacksonville and this one are all pretty much the same. One more stop, take away one return, score a touchdown instead of a field goal—all four of those games are exactly alike.”
Green was referring to earlier home-field losses to St. Louis 17-12, Carolina 24-20, and Jacksonville 24-17, all games the Cardinals had a chance to win down the stretch.
Today, the Arizona defense intercepted Washington’s Mark Brunell three times, allowed just 109 rushing yards and 231 yards overall, and forced three punts in the pivotal fourth quarter.
“Huge credit to our defense in the way they played and the things they did to get it done,” commented Card quarterback Kurt Warner. “I am just disappointed that we couldn’t make the plays to win.”
Card safety Adrian Wilson echoed Warner’s sentiment. “It is all for naught because we lost. That is the only thing that matters. Stats are stats but all the counts is the win of loss column.”
Warner finished the game with 25 completions in 41 attempts for 255 yards and one touchdown, with Anquan Boldin his primary target with nine receptions for 114 yards. Boldin vaulted over the 1,000-yard receiving mark to join teammate Larry Fitzgerald in the 1,000-yard category, only the second time in franchise history two players gained 1,000 receiving yards in the same season (Rob Moore and Frank Sanders, 1997.)
But the Card running game added just 62 yards as both J.J. Arrington and Marcel Shipp each lost fumbles.
“We hadn’t turned the ball over and fumbled it much,” reflected Green. “I don’t know when the last time we’ve had running backs get his and fumble it. That was an intense game.”
The score at the end of the first quarter was 0-0, but there was plenty of action in the opening period as the first five possessions resulted in five turnovers by the two clubs.
“It was a hard-hitting game,” Green added. “I think we laid it on them a few times and they gave it up, and we gave it up a few times. I think it was a very physical game. I think when that happens, you’re going to have some turnovers. Our defense played a very physical, hard-nosed game, limited them on the run and on the pass, and when you do that you really should win the ballgame.”
The Cards drove to midfield with the opening possession of the game, but Warner’s third and seven pass for Fitzgerald was intercepted by Sean Taylor near midfield. Washington gave the ball right back when Brunell’s pass to tight end Chris Cooley was tipped and intercepted by Card safety Antrel Rolle in his first action in 11 weeks due to a knee injury suffered at Seattle.
“Antrel played well,” Green said of Rolle’s return to play. “He got his hands on the ball a couple of times, he was physical a couple of times. It was good to see a guy work his butt off to come back in and play.”
Arizona, however, coughed up the ball once again when Warner was stripped on a sack as Washington defensive back Pierson Prioleau recovered at the Cardinal 44 yard line.
Rolle nearly had this second interception of the game, but an illegal contact call negated the play and gave Washington a first down at the Card 15-yard line, only to have David Macklin make a diving interception at the goal line and bring the ball out to the 18-yard line.
In keeping with the theme of the game, Arizona fumbled the ball right back to Washington when Arrington was stripped on a run up the middle, giving the Redskins possession at the 23-yard line. Washington put a stop to the turnover madness with a 41-yard John Hall field goal with 10 seconds gone in the second period for a 3-0 Redskin lead.
Reggie Swinton’s 31-yard kickoff return gave Arizona the ball at its own 35-yard line. Warner hit Bryant Johnson for 12 yards on a third and two, crossing midfield to the Redskins 45-yard line. Warner then found Fitzgerald for 11 yards to the 34, Shipp burst up the middle for 11 more, and then Boldin’s 13-yard grab gave Arizona a first down at the seven yard line. On third and two, Warner capped a 12-play, 65-yard scoring drive when he hit Leron McCoy on a quick slant to give the Cards a 7-3 lead with 8:27 to play in the second quarter.
The fifth turnover of the game reared its head on Washington’s next possession when Card safety Adrian Wilson picked off Brunell at the two-yard line, and his return coupled with a late hit give Arizona the ball at the Redskin 47-yard line with 1:49 left in the first half.
Card kicker Neil Rackers, still not fully recovered from an injury to his left calf, converted a 44-yard field goal with 1:06 remaining in the half to push the Card lead to 10-3 at intermission.
With the second half kickoff, Washington drove 80 yards in 13 plays, capped by a 15-yard scoring run by Clinton Portis to tie the game at 10-10, a drive which featured a fourth-and-one conversion by the Redskins and later a 15-yard facemask penalty on Wilson.
Arizona took the lead when they drove 71 yards in 11 plays for a 20-yard Rackers field goal and 13-10 advantage with 3:34 left in the third quarter. That lead was short-lived, however, when Redskin Antonio Brown returned the ensuing kickoff 91 yards for a back-breaking touchdown and a 17-13 Washington advantage.
“I think they hit it flush,” Green said of the touchdown return. “I think we had way too many guys on the wrong side of the ball. Their guy never broke stride. The kick was low and short, but six out of 10 guys did a poor job.”
The first quarter was laden with turnovers, and the bulk of the fourth quarter featured five punts, the last which gave the Cardinals one final chance to pull out the win. With the ball on the 41-yard line at the 4:13 mark, a pass interference call on Washington moved the ball to the Redskin 33-yard line with 3:33 to play. A nine-yard pass from Warner to Boldin set up a third-and one for Arizona, but a lateral pass to Fitzgerald lost one yard and the Cardinals faced a fourth and two. But there was no magic left as Arrington was stopped short on a sweep around left end and Washington ran out the clock for the 17-13 win.
“I think this was the type of game that if we did a little better job coaching, we could’ve won,” Green told reporters. “If we’d made a few more catches, we could’ve won. If we had a little better protection—it’s all us together who have to produce. That’s how this game was like the other four games. We needed one more thing, and we would’ve had a chance to win the ball game.”
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