- Local
- Community
- Journalism
Support the independent voice of Phoenix and help keep the future of New Times free.
The Arizona Cardinals got clobbered 38-7 by the San Francisco 49ers yesterday, but there's a silver lining: what's been an atrocious season for the Cards is now over -- with the team finishing in last place in the worst division in the NFL.
As has been the narrative all season, the Cards were awful in the loss, with the offense -- in this case led by rookie quarterback John Skelton -- looking awful, and the defense playing horrific.
Skelton connected with Larry Fitzgerald for a 10-yard touchdown pass in the first half for the team's only points, which was the only Cardinals highlight of the entire game.
Skelton, who was replaced in the second half by Richard Bartel, completed 14 of 25 passes for 92 yards. He had one interception and one touchdown earning him a QB rating of 60.8, which sucks but is about par for the course for Cards quarterbacks this season.
Bartel played a little better than Skelton, but not much.
Bartel completed 16 of 28 passes for 150 yards. He threw no touchdowns and was intercepted once for a passer rating of 57.1.
The Cards' defense was fairly average in the first half, which is better than awful -- which has been the standard for much of the season.
The Cards' D only allowed 10 points in the first half, a manageable deficit for the offense going into the second half down three. The defense stopped the Niners on six of seven third down tries. But then the second half happened -- where the Cards' offense did absolutely nothing and defense was powerless to stop San Fran's offensive surge.
The Niners scored 28 unanswered points in the second half -- 21 of which were scored in the third quarter.
San Francisco cornerback Tarell Brown put the final nail in the Cards' coffin by picking off Bartel for a 62-yard touchdown return. Bartel, who made his NFL debut yesterday, made a half-assed effort to try and stop the return of the interception he threw, but just gave up near the 20-yard line allowing Brown to prance into the endzone untouched.
As the saying goes, Cards fans, there's always next year.
Keep Phoenix New Times Free... Since we started Phoenix New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix, and we would like to keep it that way. Offering our readers free access to incisive coverage of local news, food and culture. Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering Phoenix with no paywalls.
