Patriots vs. Cardinals game recap: Everything you need to know from the stunning upset

The New England Patriots’ bizarre run continues in 2020. They defeated the Arizona Cardinals, 20-17, in Week 12 on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. That loss to a seemingly superior Cardinals team comes in the wake of New England’s Week 11 loss to the Houston Texans, a seemingly subordinate team.

Trying to make sense of where the Patriots rank in the NFL is useless. They can defeat just about any team. And they can lose to just about any team. There’s no saying how good they’ll be on any given week. But the good version of New England has showed up too far and too few in between the bad. And so the Patriots (5-6) are still long shots to make the playoffs.

New England carried a struggling Cam Newton to victory in Week 12. A Nick Folk field goal ended the game as time expired. It was an exciting victory, even in the context of a puzzling season. Here’s everything you need to know about the game.

Final score: The Patriots beat the Cardinals, 20-17

It was over when...

... Folk hit the game-winner, a 50-yard field goal. There was no guarantee the he'd hit it, of course. Cardinals kicker Zane Gonzalez had just missed his potential game winner, after all. And perhaps fittingly, the CBS broadcast cut from the Patriots' win to the Panthers' loss. And in Carolina's defeat, it saw kicker Joey Slye miss his 54-yard attempt, which would've won it. It all served as a reminder that the Patriots have a good one in Folk. As much as Newton struggled in this game, he did well on this final drive, which included a 14-yard carry on third-and-13 while drawing a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty.

Keys to the game

Here's how we saw the Patriots' win coming together.

• Kyler Murray didn't look like himself. He entered the game with shoulder issues, and Murray looked like a diminished version of himself. Maybe a part of that was due to Bill Belichick's genius. But a part of it was definitely due to Murray's injury.

• Cam Newton looked like the Weeks 3 through 7 version of himself. For the last four weeks (from Week 8 to Week 11), Newton was playing like a machine. He was efficient and unflappable while limiting his turnover total to just one during those four weeks. New England's 2-2 record wasn't a testament to Newton's encouraging play. But the inconsistency returned this week. The Patriots won despite Newton.

• The defense played one of their better games, thanks to Adam Butler and Stephon Gilmore. These two players were New England's standouts. EDGE Chase Winovich and linebacker Ja'Whuan Bentley deserve love, too. Gilmore made good work in limiting DeAndre Hopkins to just 55 receiving yards. Butler, meanwhile, was doing just about everything else. He tipped a pass that resulted in an Adrian Phillip interception, and Butler logged a sack on third down that ended another second-half drive from the Cardinals. It was his best game as a pro.

• James White scored two touchdowns on five carries. Casual.

3 stars of the game

⭐⭐⭐: DL Adam Butler -- We mentioned his big plays. Butler finished with a wild stat line: five tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss, one pass deflection and three quarterback hits. ⭐⭐: LB Ja'Whaun Bentley -- As much as I rip Bentley every week, he made one of the most important plays of the game, with a tackle on Kenyan Drake on a fourth-and-1 as time expired at the end of the first half. Drake hammered the middle of the offensive line, but Lawrence Guy plugged his gap, which left Bentley to fire into the hold to meet Drake. John Simon jumped into the mix to push the pile away from the end zone. And the Cardinals came away with zero points on the drive. ⭐: K Nick Folk -- It's almost unfair to put the game-winning play down at one star. He was 2 of 2 on field goals and 2 of 2 on extra points. (Perfect.)

Key stats

13: Bentley recorded a game-high and career-high tackles. 50%: Newton was 9 of 18. Yet New England somehow scored 20 points -- and won the game. 8: Folk accounted for almost half the Patriots' points. Kickers are important, folks. 55: DeAndre Hopkins' yardage total was his fourth-worst sum of the season.

Quote of the game

Belichick was asked whether Newton would continue to be the team's quarterback after a rough game in Week 12 and a generally erratic season. Belichick offered a lukewarm response. "We just kind of keep working to get better. Cam threw for 350 last week," the Patriots coach told reporters after the game. "The most important thing is we made the plays we needed to make to win. That's what the goal will be every week." To be clear, Newton will be the starter next week, barring unforeseen circumstances. But that's not what's important. The 2020 season is basically over. New England is evaluating Newton for 2021. As much as it was a win for New England, it wasn't a triumphant one with the playoffs essentially out of reach. It will be curious to see and hear what the Patriots think of Newton heading into free agency.

Next up: @ the Los Angeles Chargers

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Justin Herbert has been sensational in 2020 with impressive pocket passing. It's probably fair to say he is better in the NFL than he was at Oregon. But as good as he's been statistically, he has struggled to actually win games. That, of course, is of the utmost importance. So the Patriots may actually enter this game as favorites. But of course, that doesn't mean they can't mess it up. They seem to be at their worst when they're favored.