Analysis: Missed field goal isn't the only reason why the Cardinals lost to the Eagles

Analysis

Justin Pugh’s heart was in the right place, even if his mouth wasn’t.

As new Cardinals kicker Matt Ammendola was discussing his missed 43-yard field goal on Sunday with 22 seconds to play that led to a 20-17 loss to the Eagles at State Farm Stadium, Pugh, Arizona’s starting left guard put his arm around Ammendola and scolded reporters for even having the nerve to interview Ammendola

“At the end of the (expletive) day, guys, it’s not one (expletive) guy,” Pugh said. “I missed a block, we missed touchdowns, we should have had the ball and been able to score. It’s not on one (expletive) guy. Everybody’s waiting around for one guy to come back here. This (expletive) ain’t right. It’s not right.

“It’s not on one (expletive) guy.”

Pugh then turned to Ammendola, who was signed last week because Matt Prater is dealing with a sore right hip, and told him to keep his head up, that the Cardinals are going to win games.

That wasn’t the story on Sunday — Pugh playing the role of tough-guy media bouncer. If Ammendola had made the kick to force overtime or make another kick later to possibly win it, he would have had a crowd of reporters around him then, too.

But even his miss, though critically impactful to the final outcome, wasn’t the story of the game.

It was the same issue that has been plaguing this team since the season opener. The Cardinals can’t seem to find a way to get quicker and cleaner operations on both offense and defense in the first half of games. That nauseating trend continued for a fifth consecutive week, and it was a big reason why Arizona is 2-3 and has now dropped eight straight games at home dating back to last season.

The Eagles (5-0) have been playing as good as anyone in the league thus far, so maybe it wasn’t a surprise to see them race out to an early 14-0 lead. Everybody, though, it seems does that to the Cardinals in 2022.

Once the second half rolls around, the Cardinals usually get things figured out and both sides of the ball start firing and getting things done. But why does it always take a full half before the Cardinals start playing like a competent team?

“I don’t have an answer,” coach Kliff Kingsbury said, adding of his team, “They’ve got a lot of heart, there’s no doubt, and they’re a resilient group. But to come out flat every single week for five straight weeks is something we’re still trying to figure out.”

As bad as that part of things has been, that wasn’t the story of this game, either.

It boiled down to the final one minute and 45 seconds. That’s how much time was left in regulation after the Eagles’ new kicker, Cameron Dicker, drilled a 23-yard field goal to give the Eagles a 20-17 lead after Eno Benjamin’s 11-yard touchdown run had tied the score at 17 with 9:43 to play.

But the Eagles’ ensuing 70-yard drive for that field goal was methodical, taking 17 plays and nearly eight full minutes. It didn’t leave the Cardinals with any room for error, especially because on the play before Dicker’s field goal, they got charged with their third and final timeout due to an injured player on the field.

Safety Jalen Thompson made a great pass break-up in the end zone on third and goal from the 10, but went down hard and stayed down. When that happens inside the final two minutes, teams get charged a timeout and that was the last one Arizona had.

“I got the wind knocked out of me, unfortunately,” Thompson said.

An extra timeout would have helped, especially after the Cardinals drove to the Eagles 34 on seven plays before Kyler Murray, one second and 10, scrambled for what he and Kingsbury thought was a 10-yard gain for first down. Except it wasn’t 10 yards. It was only nine.

With 22 seconds left, Murray spiked the football to stop the clock. The instruction came from Kingsbury over the radio. It was now fourth down and instead of being able to try to take one more shot to play for the win, Kingsbury called for Ammendola and the field goal unit.

“I was right there and thought he was clearly past (the first down marker),” Kingsbury said of Murray. “They brought it back, but by that time we had committed to clocking it. … It was just past the point of no return.

“We committed to it at that point. If we would have tried to switch into a run and didn’t get it, you’re scrambling with 20 seconds left to get your kicker in on a hurricane field goal and it was just … We would have kicked a field goal around that area either way.”

Kingsbury didn’t want to risk throwing a pass on third down with the clock running and no timeouts remaining, saying he feared a sack or perhaps something worse. If Murray had gotten the first down on his scramble, maybe the Cardinals could have tried something else.

“Probably not launching it to the end zone,” Kingsbury said. “You don’t want to get picked off. You don’t want to, like I said, take a sack and it’s over. So, it would have been some conservative throws to try and get closer.”

So, they opted for a 43-yard field goal, which Prater probably would have made in his sleep with a healthy hip. Ammendola missed it and the Eagles took over in victory formation.

“It honestly felt good. Everything felt good off my foot,” Ammendola said. “It’s something I’ve got to work on. I’ll have to go back and watch it, look at the film just review what went on. I felt good all game. Honestly, like I said, it felt good off my foot.

“You’ve just got to go out there, keep working. … Obviously, it sucks. It’s a bad feeling. You’ve just got to keep pushing and bounce back through adversity.”

No one blamed Ammendola for the loss. A lot of factors played into it, from another slow start to Thompson getting the wind knocked out of him and Kingsbury mistakenly thinking Murray had picked up a first down.

“I happens,” Kingsbury said of the missed kick at the end. “There were plenty other moments that we could have won that game.”

Have an opinion on the Arizona Cardinals? Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic.com and follow him on Twitter @azbobbymac. Listen to him live on Fox Sports 910-AM every Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 on Calling All Sports with Roc and Manuch.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Analysis: Cardinals lose to Eagles; could more deep shots have helped?