Cardinals-49ers stinker was exactly what ratings-suffering NFL didn’t need
Now we know the real reason why the NFL is threatening to fine teams for broadcasting too much game video online. Watching Thursday night’s game between the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers was all the proof we needed.
In an embarrassingly bad football display — even by watered-down Thursday standards — the Arizona Cardinals beat the San Francisco 49ers, 33-21, before a sparse crowd and likely another poor showing with the TV ratings. The win prevented the Cardinals from losing three straight for the first time under head coach Bruce Arians.
Here are some of the uglies that told much of the story:
• 27 combined passing yards in the first quarter
• 12 combined punts in the first half
• another stupid taunting penalty the NFL seems to love this season
• a whopping 4.93 yards per pass attempt
• lots of Blaine Gabbert scrambling
• lots of Gabbert getting sacked — seven times, including a safety in the final, sad moments of the game
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Outside of one terrific running back on each team and the Cardinals’ Larry Fitzgerald, who caught two TD passes, there was little of value in this game. Oh, hey, Markus Golden is the NFL’s sack leader — does that excite you?
In one awful exchange that epitomized the game’s quality, the 49ers fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half, and the Cardinals recovered but stalled offensively with Drew Stanton (11-of-27 passing, 124 yards, two TDs), who was terrible as an injury replacement for Carson Palmer, nursing a concussion.
How little did Arians trust Stanton? The Cardinals ran a line plunge on third-and-11 from the San Francisco 15. They were playing for the field goal in a 7-7 tie with more than 28 minutes left in the damned game. The kick was good, but the 49ers ran into kicker Chandler Catanzaro, so the Cardinals took the points off the board. In this game, the move felt deadly; but David Johnson waltzed untouched into the end zone for a 14-7 Cardinals lead.
The questions we had coming in about the 49ers held up. Gabbert again was mostly poor. They’ve now been outscored 41-10 in third quarters. Chip Kelly still hasn’t proven to anyone he can coach in this league. Colin Kaepernick apparently is still too hurt to play (but healthy enough to be the backup?). Maybe a few helpless souls kept one eye on the game to see if Kaep would play; those are the folks who deserve a written apology from the league.
The Cardinals won — and good lord, did they need it at 1-3 coming in — but there wasn’t a lot to get excited about. They lost both starting offensive guards to injury. Stanton struggled to do much on his own. The defense wasn’t as dominant as you’d think it would be. There’s still not a Super Bowl-ish vibe around this team whatsoever.
Seriously, this is a division game, a team that was a preseason Super Bowl favorite, a prime-time game — but the stadium was maybe half full and the ratings are going to be trash again. Sure, there was a Red Sox-Indians playoff game opposite this. But blame it on all the external factors you want, such as the election or the hurricane. The fact remains that this product isn’t very good or even close to very good.
Poor quality of play, no Peyton Manning or Tom Brady (until Sunday), bad quarterbacks and oversaturation of the game have led to crummy TV ratings and declining attendance league-wide. The numbers have gotten worse and the volume on those reports has been turned up.
Gabbert vs. Stanton was not what the NFL needed. Brady will come to the rescues in the afternoon, and Sunday night’s New York Giants-Green Bay Packers game will help the numbers. But what happens if Cam Newton can’t go for Monday’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Carolina Panthers game? More bad news.
There isn’t an enticing Thursday matchup until after Thanksgiving. And the league is wondering why the numbers are down? That one — one of many. More than one of which was on display in this stinker.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
