The Arizona Cardinals had a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but were unable to finish them off. The Bucs scored 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime and got a game-winning field goal for a 19-16 win, sending the Cardinals to their fifth straight loss.
There were some good efforts but some disappointments from the Cardinals in the loss.
Below are our studs and duds from the loss.
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STUD: WR Greg Dortch
Dortch had a fantastic game. He caught 10 passes for 98 yards and had 25 rushing yards as well. This came after he had only 10 offensive snaps combined in the previous two games.
STUD: RB James Conner
Conner was the other star of the offense. He rushed for 79 yards and a touchdown on 15 attempts. He also had seven catches for 41 yards.
He and Dortch combined for 243 of the Cardinals’ 325 total yards of offense on the evening.
DUD: WR DeAndre Hopkins
Hopkins was targeted 10 times but managed only a single four-yard catch.
It wasn’t really his fault, but he did not produce. Trace McSorley struggled to get him the ball, although he did try.
STUD: CB Marco Wilson
Wilson picked off Tom Brady twice in the loss. One came nearly at the goalline and the other was a route he undercut. Brady was targeting Mike Evans both times.
STUD: DL J.J. Watt
Watt again came up big. He had six tackles, two tackles for loss and a pair of quarterback hits. His effort has kept the effort level of his teammates high, even in a lost season.
He looks like a man looking to get another contract after the season.
DUD: QB Trace McSorley
This does feel a little unfair because expectations were not high. He completed 24-of-45 passes for 217 yards and an interception.
But he had a number of off-target throws. He couldn’t get the ball to Hopkins and had had a hand in all three of the team’s turnovers.
You can’t blame him for the interception at the end of regulation on his Hail Mary throw, but his fumble cost them points on their first drive of the game and his pitch to Keaontay Ingram was not quite perfect, leading to that fumble and turnover in the fourth quarter.
