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Happy Monday! I hope you had a nice weekend, though if you did, you probably weren’t paying much attention to the local sports scene. There’s plenty more below, but in short order, the Cardinals, Mercury (x2), Sun Devils hockey team (x2) and Rising FC all lost — and the Cardinals’ defeat was as stunning as it was gut-wrenching.
Kudos to the Arizona Wildcats football team, which kept the weekend from being a complete loss.
On to the show!
Demercado, Cardinals Drop the Ball
It wasn’t funny — but what else could you do, other than laugh?
After all, it wasn’t that the winless Titans rolled into Glendale and handed the Cardinals their third straight loss. It was how it happened.
If I hadn’t watched it, I’m not sure I would believe it.
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It was one of those losses that you’ll be able to recall forever. There were the Cardinals, leading 21-6 in the fourth quarter, desperately needing a win to right the proverbial ship before heading into a gauntlet of games that includes the Colts and Packers.
What happened next included a baffling series of events which ultimately led to Arizona’s demise:
- An early snap that hit Kyler Murray right in the facemask, recovered by the Titans (this was in the third quarter, but I could not omit this bizarre sequance).
- Emari Demercado ran 72 yards to seemingly put the Cardinals up 27-6, but he inexplicably dropped the ball before crossing the goal line. You know how this one ends up after the turnover: Touchdown, Titans, and it’s 21-12.
- Dadrion Taylor-Demerson intercepted a pass to seemingly end a Titans threat … only to fumble it into the end zone where Tennessee fell on it and cut it to 21-19.
- The Cardinals then failed to chew gain enough first downs to run out the clock, and Joey Slye nailed a 29-yarder as time expired to send Arizona to its third straight loss. They have all come in identical, walk-off fashion.
- The Cards have lost the last three games by a combined five points.
Reaction around both the Arizona and national sports scenes has been swift, with some wondering if changes are on the horizon.
Cardinals Fail to Score in Second Half, Collapse in Fourth Quarter
- Carter, Demercado fill in admirably … almost.
Michael Carter handled the majority of the duties in the backfield, carrying the ball 18 times for 51 yards and one touchdown. Demercado, meanwhile, rushed it just three times for 81 yards, but also committed the most costly turnover of the game — and almost assuredly of the season.
- Marvin Harrison Jr. continues to make gains.
MHJ had a dandy of a catch to set up a touchdown, and finished the day with four receptions for 98 yards. He’s not breaking any records, but his numbers have been trending the right way recently.
- Will Drew Petzing still have a job when you’re reading this?
A quick scan of social media shows hordes of personalities and fans calling for offensive Drew Petzing’s dismissal. Even if that happens, is it enough? How would you go about fixing this team? I want to hear from you! Reply to this message or send an email to patrick@gophnx.com and sound off!
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There’s No Place Like Home..: The Mercury have dug themselves into a 2-0 hole in the WNBA Finals, dropping Games 1 and 2 to the Aces in Vegas. The series shifts to Phoenix for the next two games, beginning with Game 3 on Wednesday (5 pm, ESPN). The Mercury fell 89-86 on Friday and 91-78 yesterday, and have beaten the Aces just once in six meetings this season.
Cowboys Down: The Wildcats got a win for Arizona, at least, topping Oklahoma State 41-13 in Tucson to get back on the right side of the win column. UA is 4-1 and 1-1 in the Big 12, and has a big test coming up with No. 18 BYU coming to town this weekend. The Wildcats out-gained the Cowboys 479-158 in the game.
Take That, L.A: The Suns won their preseason opener on Friday, topping the Lakers 103-81 led by Devin Booker’s 24 points. Phoenix now heads to China, where it will face Brooklyn twice before wrapping up its exhibition slate against the Lakers at home on Oct. 14.
Too Close for Comfort: Rising FC allowed a late goal to fall 1-0 to New Mexico on Saturday, breaking its string of five consecutive ties with a loss that’s damaging toward postseason aspirations. Phoenix is just two points ahead of Orange County in the race for the final playoff spot in the West, and is back in action on Friday at North Carolina FC.
Make it make sense. How does this continue to happen?
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