The record will show that tight end Trey McBride had a great season, Marvin Harrison Jr. has a promising future, the Cardinals' defense played over its head for much of the year and Arizona was almost a good football team in 2024.
Key word — almost.
A frustrating stretch continued on Saturday when the Cardinals (7-9) lost 13-9 to the host Los Angeles Rams. Arizona was pushing for a go-ahead touchdown in the final minute, but Kyler Murray's pass took an unlucky bounce off McBride's helmet and LA's Ahkello Witherspoon made a spectacular grab for the interception, snagging the ball just before it hit the turf.
“I think we can compete with anybody, but again, that doesn’t count,” second-year coach Jonathan Gannon said. “It’s about winning and losing, you what I mean? I just got to do a better job, but I know they’re doing the right things.”
The Cardinals did a lot of things right against the Rams. Despite being eliminated from the postseason, Arizona competed hard.
Murray completed 33 of 48 passes for 321 yards and a touchdown — but also had two interceptions. McBride caught 12 passes for 123 yards, including his first TD catch of the year. Harrison had one of his best games with six catches for 96 yards.
“I’m going to choose to be positive about it,” Murray said. “I see a light at the end of that tunnel. I think we’re a couple plays away, a couple of plays away from being a 10-win team or right where we want to be, going to the playoffs or winning the division.”
The Cardinals' defense played well for most of the game, limiting the Rams to 257 yards.
But in the end, it was another loss. The Cardinals have dropped five of six after starting 6-4.
“I know we’re close, man, and I know it’s hard to see that,” Gannon said. “For me, that’s hard to take on the chin but we’ll get better from it. We’ll get better.”
What’s working
The Murray-to-Harrison connection was much better on Saturday, producing several big plays. Gannon challenged Harrison to be more physical against opposing defensive backs last week, and the receiver responded, looking much more like the player the Cardinals expected when they selected him with the No. 4 overall pick.
“I think the physicality of it, coming from college to the league, guys don’t realize how physical you can be when you get to the league,” Murray said. “He's going to be big time.”
What needs help
After doing a great job of taking care of the ball over the first 11 games, Murray has thrown seven interceptions over the past five. A few of those came in late-game situations when he had to take a chance and force a pass, but it's still not a good trend.
Stock up
McBride had his third 100-yard game of the season, showing sure hands and fighting through contact for extra yards. The third-year player has 1,081 yards receiving this season, becoming just the second tight end in franchise history to exceed 1,000 yards. The other was Hall of Famer Jackie Smith, who had 1,205 yards in 1967.
He has 104 catches and is just the 10th tight end in NFL history to top 100 in a season.
Stock down
Arizona's special teams have been very good for most of the year, but Los Angeles' block of an extra point attempt by Chad Ryland in the third quarter proved costly. If the Cardinals had trailed by three points on the final drive instead of four, they would have had the option of kicking a tying field goal in the final minute.
Injuries
RB James Conner tried to battle through a knee injury against the Rams, but gained just 4 yards on the ground. His status for the season's final game is uncertain. LB Joey Blount (ribs) and CB Elijah Jones (ankle) were inactive.
Key number
822 — Harrison's receiving yards on the season. That ranks third for a rookie in franchise history behind Anquan Boldin (1,377 in 2003) and Frank Sanders (883 in 1995).
Next steps
Arizona's final game will be at home on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, who are also eliminated from the playoff race.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
David Brandt, The Associated Press
