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The Cardinals’ postseason hopes completely busted in yesterday’s loss to the Carolina Panthers, but there’s still playoff football to be watched around The Valley, as the Sun Devils now know their Peach Bowl opponent — Texas. The Longhorns dominated Clemson for most of their playoff game on Saturday, and Kenny Dillingham’s team has its work cut out for it, entering next week’s game as a FOURTEEN POINT UNDERDOG according to ​bet365​.

That’s pretty ridiculous, a sign of disrespect, and one thing this newsletter editor has learned over the last season is that’s when the Sun Devils are at their best. We’ll take a deeper look in the lead-up to the game, but for now, I’ll leave it at this:

I think ASU will win.

On to the show!

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Cardinals’ Playoff Hopes Crushed in Loss to Panthers

Kyler Murray said last week he didn’t see yesterday’s game against the 3-10 Panthers as a trap game.

Turns out, he was right. It was an end game.

The Cardinals made too many poor decisions, took too many bad penalties, and were unable to complete a rally against the Panthers to keep their playoff hopes alive. It still would have taken some help to ultimately reach the playoffs, but the end result against a subpar Panthers team (that, for what it’s worth, has been playing much better lately) confirmed what we had seen all season: Arizona was too inconsistent, and simply never showed a killer instinct when it mattered most.

Now, the Cardinals and their fans will have to wait another year to see if Murray is in fact a quarterback worthy of producing a long-awaited championship for a city and state that craves nothing more than something to celebrate.

Cardinals Kicked in the Teeth Despite Ryland’s Heroics

Chad Ryland’s leg was almost the story yet again. Arizona’s kicker has made a name for himself this season with clutch kicks, and he extended Arizona’s playoff hopes with a 58-yard boot to force overtime yesterday.

The Cardinals’ defense — which was less than stellar for much of the game — forced a punt on Carolina’s first possession of the extra frame, but Murray and the offense managed just one first down before being forced to punt — leading to the Panthers’ game-winning drive.

There were chances, but inconsistent play and a myriad of ill-advised penalties essentially sealed Arizona’s fate.

“I know they’re down, I know that’s real,” coach Jonathan Gannon said. “Ultimately, when you reflect on it, we haven’t done enough, and that starts with me.”

There’s plenty of blame to go around, though.

Murray, Harrison Jr. Leave a Lot to be Desired

The start of the 2024 season was ripe with excitement, and even some playoff speculation, especially after Arizona drafted Marvin Harrison Jr. to help give Murray more weapons. It just never quite panned out as fans had hoped in his first year.

There’s much to be done in order to have any confidence in this offense (beyond James Conner) next season, and beyond.

Credit the Cards for battling back in this one – they fell down 20-3 midway through the second quarter, but cut that deficit to three at the half, and had enough answers to hang around long enough to set up Ryland’s 58-yarder. Conner was his usual steady self despite exiting early with a knee injury, posting 117 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries.

The 29-year-old has recorded 1,000 rushing yards in two consecutive seasons, ranking 10th in the league with 1,090 to this point.

But Harrison Jr. was noticeably quiet yet again, hauling in four catches for 39 yards and no touchdowns. His seven scores this season rank 12th, but expectations were much higher for the Ohio State product, and there needs to be a lot of growth heading into his sophomore campaign for the Cardinals to realize their desired return on investment.

Murray is part of the problem, as well. He did account for two touchdowns (one passing, one rushing), but threw a costly interception late in the game, and though the defense should be credited for getting a stop there (leading to the game-tying field goal) and forcing a Panthers punt on the first overtime possession, the offense was unable to find the end zone when it mattered most — with the season on the line.

“We had an opportunity to win the game, we didn’t, and that’s the most frustrating part,” Murray said. “We showed we’re a resilient bunch, but at the end of the day, we didn’t get the job done.

“Losing is not fun.”

Questions Loom Large Around Coaching and Leadership

Look, it’s not all bad.

Disappointment is coming out in droves for all of the obvious reasons, but it’s important to take a step back and highlight the marked improvement under Gannon, who inherited a 4-13 team (2022), matched that output in 2023, and exceeded it this past season by posting a 7-8 record with two games remaining.

It’s tough to smile about that, though, considering Arizona was 6-4 and had won four straight heading into its bye in week 11.

The Cardinals are 1-4 since, and playoff aspirations have come crashing down faster than Murray in a full-on sprint.

“We felt like we were close,” linebacker Kyzir White said. “We felt like we had an opportunity to get it done. We didn’t get it done today.

“It’s definitely frustrating, and it definitely hurts.”

For better or for worse, that responsibility falls on the shoulders of the head coach. Gannon did not shy away from that responsibility following yesterday’s disappointment, and fans can only hope the bitter defeat (in what was a long shot bid for the playoffs, anyways), can act as motivation throughout the end of the season and offseason.

“It’s hard. It’s a learning process,” Gannon said. “When you’ve got things that you need to make sure that you handle that give you a chance to win, I don’t think we handled them well enough today.”

Here’s hoping they’re ready to handle it the next time a meaningful game rolls around, which sadly is at least a year away.

Full PHNX Cardinals Coverage

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🧢 TIP OF THE HAT BY BRANDED BILLS
Jayden Daniels led Washington to an epic win over Philly, and made history in the process. Unreal.

Jayden Daniels' FOUR passing TDs in the final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter/OT is the most by any player in a season since the merger 😱

Never count out the rookie 🔥 @Commanders pic.twitter.com/sXVF4FWEq7

— ESPN (@espn) December 22, 2024