There have been times this season when a clearly talent-deficient Patriots team couldn't get out of their own way to win games they normally take.
Losses to the Broncos, Bills and Texans stand out in this regard. You could almost lump the Jets game in there, but Gang Green is just that bad on their way to a winless season. New York couldn't hand the game over quick enough to the Patriots with that late Joe Flacco interception.
So if there's anything to be taken away from Sunday's 20-17 victory over the Cardinals — who may be in the midst of a freefall since they stand just a Hail Mary away from losing four straight games as teams figure out Kliff Kingsbury's limited offense — it's that the Patriots are still good enough as a football team, to take a gift from a team like Arizona and deliver a victory.
Even when their offense needed help from the defense, special teams and the Cardinals to slap together an average of 31.3 yards gained per scoring drive (no, that's not a misprint, the Patriots' scoring drives were 41, 35, 31 and 18 yards)
And did the Cardinals ever try to hand the Patriots this game:
KYLER MURRAY WAS CLEARLY LIMITED
If you haven't watched the Cardinals much previous to Sunday, you probably wondered what all the hype was about as Murray was mentioned as candidates for NFL MVP and/or Offensive Player of the Year.
Just 170 yards passing? 5.0 yards per attempt (Cam Newton had 4.7)? Five rushes for 31 yards?
Yeah, nothing to write home about ... if you haven't seen Murray previously.
Those of us who have been watching Murray all year long know that was not the real Murray on Sunday. The right shoulder injury he sustained against the Seahawks the game prior not only limited him in practice, but it clearly affected the way the Cardinals used him. Just consider this:
In the previous four games before the shoulder injury, Murray averaged 11.5 carries and 77.0 yards per game and rushed for five touchdowns. This is what he normally looks like, when healthy:
Kyler Murray takes 1,000 steps to run in the 19-yard TD
pic.twitter.com/gr2ut80jWI
— PFF (@PFF) September 20, 2020
If the Cardinals went up 17-7 and got the ball, it would have been a repeat of the Texans game when Houston scored with 10 seconds left to end a 9-play, 80-yard drive and go up 21-10. It was a deficit the Patriots could never make up, even with Newton throwing for 365 yards. With how bad Newton was on Sunday, it's likely the Patriots would have been blown out.
Credit to the Patriots for rallying on the next two plays to not give up any points, and get a huge emotional lift going into halftime.
Of course, Kingsbury made a second-year coaching mistake not taking the field goal, going up 13-7, getting the ball to start the 2nd half and not letting the Patriots get that jolt.
CARDINALS FINALLY BLOW IT FOR GOOD
After Newton throws a back-breaking interception that should have lost the game, the Cardinals still couldn't take advantage of it. They gained one first down and ran the ball four straight times — without using Murray (another indication of his poor health) — before settling for a 45-yard field goal that Zane Gonzalez missed.
Kingsbury and the Cardinals made multiple mistakes in the final two minutes:
- Didn't give Murray — one of the most dangerous weapons in the league — a run-pass option on third down.
- You could make a convincing argument to go for it on fourth down. Missing the field goal gave the Patriots 8 yards of better field position (from the 27-yard line to the 35-yard line). After Newton just threw a terrible interception, a good coach would have known the Patriots would be afraid to let Newton air it out again. Those 8 yards made a huge difference in the end. In fact, EdjSports called Kingsbury's decision to not go for it there the worst playcall of Week 12.
- I would subscribe that the decision of defensive coordinator Vance Joseph to blitz and play man coverage on 3rd and 13 at the New England 32-yard line with 56 seconds left — and then add in Isaiah Simmons' personal foul penalty — was one of the worst coaching decisions I have ever seen. You want Newton to throw there. You don't want your corners turning their backs to him, which is exactly what happened.
Cam Newton gets leveled in a close game Sunday Night.
Credit: Highlight Heaven#NFL #football #BigHit #Patriots #Cardinals #wreckem pic.twitter.com/PYo0CGUdX9
— FCI_Offical (@FciOfficial_) November 30, 2020
It's over. This will never be topped.
Chase Winovich, ladies and gents. pic.twitter.com/0i8VkB8sXD
— Greg A. Bedard (@GregABedard) December 1, 2020
