The Patriots Kept Their Slight Playoff Hopes Alive With A Thrilling 20-17 Win vs. The Cardinals

 

    Not much makes sense in this crazy year of 2020 and the Patriots (5-6 overall, 4-2 home) fit under that general premise since they are becoming very difficult to predict from game to game. For instance, in the last three weeks in particular, I think that going into each matchup we would have thought they'd lose to Baltimore, win at Houston and lose against Arizona. It turns out that the opposite has occurred in each of those three contests with them pulling out a 20-17 victory this afternoon vs. the Cardinals (6-5 overall, 3-3 away) at Gillette Stadium via a 50-yard field goal by Patriots kicker Nick Folk as time expired in the fourth quarter. New England quarterback Cam Newton (9-of-18 for 84 yards, 2 INTs; 46 yards rushing) had perhaps his worst game as a Patriot-which is saying something-yet they still somehow found a way to win thanks to some timely plays by the defense (including a key goal-line stand) and stellar special teams. 

    After DeShaun Watson of the Texans torched the Patriots last week, you figured that Cardinals star quarterback Kyler Murray (23-of-34 for 170 yards, INT; 31 yards rushing) would similarly tear up New England's subpar defense but that wasn't the case at all. In fact, it was the first time all season that Murray was held without a touchdown since Arizona's running back Kenyan Drake (22 carries, 78 yards; 15 yards receiving) did most of the damage with a pair of one-yard touchdown runs. The ghost of Larry Fitzgerald was out with Covid-19 so the Pats were able to concentrate most of their energy on arguably the best wide receiver in the league-DeAndre Hopkins (5 catches for 55 yards on 7 targets)-and it showed as they mostly held him in check which was a surprise to say the least. 

    New England spotted Arizona a 10-0 in the first quarter thanks to an interception by Cardinals linebacker Markus Golden on the third play of the game as Newton's pass was deflected right into Golden's hands for his first career INT. With incredible field position (starting at the Pats 23), it only took Murray and Co. three plays to find the end zone after a 19-yard catch and run by UMass' Andy Isabella (4 catches, 33 yards) brought them down to the 4-yard line. Late in the first quarter, Arizona's kicker Zane Gonzalez hit a 47-yard to give his team what would turn out to be their biggest lead of the day. Pats running back James White hadn't scored a touchdown all season so it was great to see him take an option pitch from Newton and find paydirt on 4th-and-2 from the Cardinals 7-yard line. That whole drive was set up by a 53-yard kickoff return from Donte Moncrief that put New England in Arizona territory at the 46-yard line. 

    New England's defense stepped up right before halftime after the Cardinals held the ball for almost half of the quarter (15 plays, 71 yards in 6:57). First they tackled KeeSean Johnson at the 1-yard line and then Akeem Spence (recently elevated from the practice squad) and Ja'Whaun Bentley (13 tackles, 6 solo) combined to stop Drake on a run up the middle for no gain meaning that Arizona got zero points from that long drive. I appreciate the aggressiveness from dreamy Arizona head coach Kliff Kingsbury but that turned out to be a huge three points that they could have used at the end of the game. After forcing a punt on the Cardinals' opening drive of the third quarter, the Patriots appeared to go ahead on a punt-return for a touchdown by Gunner Olszewski. It being this year with this middling club, the six points from the 82-yard run were taken off the board as rookie Anfernee Jennings was ruled to have made an illegal blindside block. That still gave New England more great field position as they began that drive at Arizona's 39-yard line. Newton and the Pats' drive stalled near the goalline as they were forced to settle for a 22-yard field goal which tied it at 10. 

    The momentum kept building for the Patriots as Murray was picked off three plays later when defensive lineman Adam Butler (4 tackles, assist & sack) tipped a pass and it was caught by safety Adrian Phillips (5 tackles). New England's ensuring drive started at Arizona's 31-yard line so even the Patriots' slo-mo offense scored six plays later on a 1-yard run by White to the opposite corner of the end zone from his first score. Trying to keep pace with Seattle (7-3) and the Rams (7-4) in the best division in football-the NFC West-the Cardinals flipped the momentum back on their side as they surged ahead on another short Drake touchdown then cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick read Newton's eyes and picked him off on the next drive.

    It looked for sure that the Patriots were doomed at that point but thankfully, Gonzalez missed a 45-yard field goal by simply pushing it wide. Before Folk's heroics, Arizona committed two fatal mistakes on the same play to essentially put New England in field goal range: on 3rd-and-13, they let Newton scramble for 14 yards and even worse, rookie Isaiah Simmons drilled him with a helmet-to-helmet hit (which itself is a penalty but it was incorrectly called unnecessary roughness instead) as they both went out of bounds. That careless mistake resulted in a 15-yard penalty which moved the Patriots into the Cardinals' side of the field and after two short plays, Folk was called on to deliver with the game on the line for the second time in four weeks (he also won it in NY against the Jets) and once again, he made it count. 

    The Pats will get another chance to reach the .500 mark next week as they travel to Los Angeles to face the lowly Chargers (3-8) on Sunday afternoon (4:25, CBS). By taking on a rookie quarterback in Justin Herbert (granted he's been awesome) and an overmatched head coach-Anthony Lynn of Hard Knocks fame this past summer-your instinct tells you that the Patriots should win that one. I've made that mistake too many times before during this season so I'm going to hold off on any predictions and just say that hopefully New England can build off of this ballsy win and take advantage of an opponent that while talented is going nowhere in 2020.

Patriots Wrap Up A Busy Day With A Great Signing: Safety Adrian Wilson For 3 Years

Apparently if the Patriots can get free agents to Foxborough for a whirlwind tour, they can properly woo them which often results in signing a deal. One day after inking Leon Washington and a few hours after bringing aboard Donald Jones, New England made their biggest splash yet of this young offseason by signing safety Adrian Wilson to a three-year deal.

A team captain with the Cardinals, he played 12 years in the desert before getting released earlier this month. Wilson made five Pro Bowls (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) and he was a first-team All-Pro in 2009 as well. He was available because he is 33 and will be 34 in October. That's a lot of wear and tear on such a physical player (6-foot-3, 222 pounds) that's known for his big hits.

I'm not saying he'll be Rodney Harrison since Rodney was a little younger when he came to New England so he had more of his career ahead of him but I feel like there are some similarities with Wilson in terms of great players that performed in anonymity on bad teams for years. Wilson has only appeared in six career playoff games, all of which were in either 2008 and 2009.

Wilson is one of only six players in NFL history to record 25+ sacks (25.5) and 25+ interceptions (27). In 15 games with Arizona last season (14 starts), he had 39 solo tackles, 15 assists, five passes defensed, one interception, one fumble forced and three sacks.

There are plenty of other safeties on the roster for 2013: Devin McCourty, Steve Gregory, Tavon Wilson and Nate Ebner but Adrian Wilson might still be the best one of them all. Even if he can't be counted on as a full-time starter anymore, I can see him being used often in sub packages (nickel, dime) and passing situations. Seeing him with McCourty would be nice and hopefully he can help the promising but very raw Tavon Wilson (no relation) to develop. I think Gregory is awful so I want him cut while Ebner is only a special teams guy.


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Laces Out Zoltan!!! Pats Lose Heartbreaker 20-18

In what could be described as a very frustrating loss, the Patriots waited until halfway through the fourth quarter to show any signs of life offensively and in doing so, allowed the Arizona Cardinals to leave Gillette Stadium with a 20-18 victory this afternoon.

After a 5-yard touchdown reception by Rob Gronkowski (6 catches, 75 yards) cut the lead to 20-18 with 2:06 left, Arizona simply had to run the clock out to close out the victory and escape Foxboro with the upset.  However, because they are the Arizona Cardinals, they let the Patriots have one more crack at a comeback. 

After moving the chains a few times, Arizona just couldn't turn the ball over but second-year running back Ryan Williams had other plans, coughing it up on a fumble caused by Brandon Spikes (7 tackles, 5 solo, 2 quarterback hits, 1 tackle for loss) and recovered by Vince Wilfork to give the Patriots the ball with just over a minute left in the game.

I was ready to declare it a miracle when Danny Woodhead ripped off a huge touchdown run to take the lead (and win the game) but reverted back to cussing at my television once replays showed Gronk holding onto a Cardinals defender, nullifying the game winning score.

No matter, because the Patriots then found themselves in scoring position once more, lining up for a 42-yard field goal attempt by Steven Gostkowski.  Gostkowski, having had hit four other field goals in the game (46, 34, 51, 53) can make that kick in his sleep.  Keeping with the team's horrible day on special teams however, Gostkowski wasn't even close, letting Williams and the Cardinals off the hook.

Tom Brady (28 of 46, 316 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) and the Patriots offense didn't look comfortable all day long, as he was sacked three times.  He was intercepted on a tipped ball on the first offensive play from scrimmage and lost Aaron Hernandez early in the game to a nasty ankle injury.  As I write this, Mike Florio of profootballtalk.com reports that  he has a high ankle sprain and will most likely miss up to six weeks.  Perfect.

Wes Welker (5 catches, 95 yards) seemed to have a bigger role in Hernandez' absence and his first catch of the afternoon broke Troy Brown's franchise record for career receptions.  Still, he spent time as the third receiver and played less snaps than Julian Edelman.  I didn't read too much into his lack of production last week, and I don't think he is necessarily being "phased out" of the Patriots' offense, however this is getting weird at this point.  I guess we will have to see how he is used next week against Baltimore.

Game Notes

*Stevan Ridley took a little bit of a step back today and although he did rush for 71 yards, there were some key rushes on short yard situations that he simply couldn't convert.  Granted, the offensive line looked like absolute dogshit for long stretches of the game but Ridley might not be a 100 yards per game guy like we thought.

*Rough day for the special teams units out there.  Whoa.  Yes, Gostkowski kicked four field goals but also shanked the most important one.  Also, Zoltan Mesko had a punt blocked in the third quarter pretty much giving the ball to Arizona on the goal-line for one of their scores.  I believe it was the first blocked punt of his short career.  Let's not forget the false start penalty on Danny Aiken the long snapper, who flinched slightly as Mesko was trying to draw Arizona offsides on a fourth and short that would've moved the chains.  Belichick is going to work these fools into the ground this week.

*As you can expect with Pats fans these days, everyone took to Twitter to bitch about the false start and the Gronkowski hold, both were clearly penalties by the way.  Sure, the replacement referees have been wrong and comical at times, but if you let some Pats fans tell it, it's like they cost the team the game.  Relax you weirdos, the Patriots played like shit, get over it and stop looking for scapegoats.

*More from the fraud Patriots fan file:  After Ryan Williams gave the Patriots another life with his fumble, Fox cameras cut to a ton of Patriots fans literally running back to their seats just seconds after presumably leaving for the day.  Just Gillette being Gillette.  God I hate that place.

*John Lynch and Dick Stockton were decent on commentary for Fox, and lord knows it's nice to get a break from Simms and Nance, but they beat the whole "put pressure on Brady" thing into the ground.  Hey John Lynch, what quarterback does like pressure?  that being said, the O-line does need to do a better job protecting Brady da Gawd.  If he is "uncomfortable" and still puts up over 300 yards, imagine what some better protection would do.

*Losing Hernandez is HUGE.  No sugarcoating it.  I'm not blaming the team's lethargic start on his absence but the entire league knows how versatile he is and how key he is to the New England offense.  You know he's important when Wes Welker came in to essentially spell him.  It's going to be interesting to see how Josh McDaniels responds to such a huge loss.  *coughbringbackDeionBranchcough*

*Next week is a huge Week 3 game at Baltimore (1-1) on Sunday Night Football (8:20 p.m., NBC).  Baltimore dropped a close one 24-23 today to Michael Vick and the Eagles and should be pissed come next week.  In a game that could have playoff seeding implications come January, the Patriots have got to play better than they did today or else Brady might get murdered.

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Are the Arizona Cardinals the worst playoff team in NFL history?

I mean honestly, I know the Cardinals clinched the NFC West two weeks ago but could a team put up less of a fight than Arizona showed yesterday in the snow/sleet at Gillette Stadium.

The Pats (10-5) embarrassed the Cardinals (8-7), 47-7, and kept their playoff hopes alive going into the final week of the regular season.

For a team that can't win on the road, especially on the East Coast and in bad weather, it was comical when Arizona came out and tried to run the ball (even though they have statistically the worst rushing attack in the NFL).

After the first three-and-out and a 28-yard punt return by Wes Welker, the Patriots moved the ball downfield until LaMont Jordan (20 carries, 78 yards) scored from a yard out. Another Arizona three-and-out and another Jordan TD (3 yards) gave New England a 14-0 lead barely 11 minutes into the game.

If there was any question how this would end up, New England added 17 more points in the second quarter. Kevin Faulk caught a 15-yard TD from Matt Cassel (20 for 36, 345 yards, 3 touchdowns), pro-bowler Welker (7 catches, 68 yards) snagged a 11-yard TD pass and fellow pro-bowler Stephen Gostkowski hit a 38-yard kick in a swirling wind with two seconds left in the first half.

With nothing to play for, the Cardinals never really tried to play in the unfavorable elements. Anquan Boldin sat out the game and Kurt Warner might as well have done the same. Everybody's favorite Jesus freak (this side of Jon Kitna) was 6-of-18 for 30 yards before he got the hook in the third quarter.

New England is now 10-0 at Foxboro in the snow and 9-0 under Belichick with those conditions.

In the first play of the second half, Randy Moss took a bubble screen pass, made one move and was gone 76 yards for a score. Gostkowski hit three more field goals (35, 24, 30) which helped him break the single-season Patriots record for kicks.

Arizona finally got on the board in the fourth quarter when Matt Leinart (remember him? 6-for-14, 138 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) connected with Larry Fitzgerald (3 catches, 101 yards) for a 78 yard bomb.

Sammy Morris led the Pats with 88 yards rushing on 17 carries and Jabar Gaffney had a team-leading 90 yards on five catches.

The Ravens didn't do New England any favors by winning in Dallas Saturday night and the same goes for the Dolphins, who survived against Kansas City. Still, Brett Favre gave us a beautifully-wrapped gift when the Jets fell 13-3 in Seattle yesterday.

For New England to make the playoffs, they have to win in Buffalo on Sunday and either A) the Jets have to beat the Dolphins (which they did in the first game of the season) or B) the Jaguars have to beat the Ravens.

I feel very confident that the Pats can take care of the Bills, even though they knocked off the Broncos yesterday. The Jets game is a toss-up (the Jets are also still in the mix for a playoff spot) and Jacksonville is pretty unlikely to do anything other than lay down in Baltimore.

The good omen is that since the NFL expanded to six playoff teams in each conference (in 1990), no 11-5 team has ever missed the playoffs.