The Arizona Cardinals fell to 4-10 Sunday afternoon and were mathematically eliminated from postseason contention with a 24-15 loss to the Denver Broncos.
It wasn’t a good game at all.
The Cardinals were terrible offensively and then terrible defensively in the second half.
They turned the ball over and suffered more injuries.
Check out what we learned in the loss.
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The Cardinals had nothing offensively
The Cardinals’ offensive performance was atrocious. There was nothing to like other than maybe the effort of running back James Conner.
They had 240 total yards of offense for the game. They only had 87 yards at halftime.
They converted twice on third down all afternoon.
They averaged 4.8 yards per passing attempt, including garbage time.
J.J. Watt still has it
Watt was the lone bright spot in the loss with his three sacks in the first half.
He is on the verge of reaching double-digit sacks for the first time since 2018.
The defense collapsed again
The Cardinals had a 13-7 lead against the Patriots in Week 14 and allowed 20 unanswered points.
It happened again against the Broncos. They had a 9-3 lead and allowed three unanswered touchdowns.
Against the 49ers, they allowed 24 unanswered points. The defense has been bad in the second half of games lately.
More penalties
They added seven more penalties against the Broncos. They are the most-penalized offense in the league.
The pass rush was good
There was one team bright spot and that was the pass rush, but that was really only in the first half. They sacked Brett Rypien seven times. Only one came in the second half.
Watt had three. Myjai Sanders, Markus Golden, Tryten Hill and Jonathan Ledbetter all had one each.
McCoy hurt
Colt McCoy suffered a concussion in the loss and now must clear protocols to be able to play next week. If he can’t go, that means more of Trace McSorely, who did not play well.
Another starting offensive line
The Cardinals had their 10th starting offensive line combination on Sunday.
Will Hernandez returned to the lineup at right guard and Max Garcia started at left guard.
The Cardinals have now used Justin Pugh, Cody Ford, Rahsaad Coward and Garcia at left guard. They have used Hernandez, Lecitus Smith and Garcia at right guard.
Rodney Hudson, Sean Harlow and Billy Price have started at center.
It has been a mess.
Officially eliminated
It was always coming but the Cardinals now are completely and mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.
