Down and Out. Cards second-half struggles continue in loss to Bengals

Story by Zach Alvira

The Arizona Cardinals were hanging around with the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday afternoon, trailing by just four points near the midway point of the fourth quarter.

The defense had done well at times, forcing a turnover on downs at the 1-yard line going in and picking off Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow to stall another drive. The offense had a rhythm, too, as quarterback Joshua Dobbs did his best yet again to lead the Cardinals down the field on multiple possessions after falling behind 10 points early on.

But another week of second-half struggles after a slow start, especially in the fourth quarter, played a vital role in the Cardinals’ 34-20 loss to the Bengals.

“We got behind the eight ball a little bit,” Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said. “We have to make sure we’re not spotting team points, which we’ve done the last two weeks now.”

Things started falling apart for the Cardinals in the third quarter.

Arizona was only down 24-20 nearing the midway point of the quarter. K’Von Wallace had just recorded the first interception of his NFL career and the Cardinals were driving into Cincinnati territory.

They faced a fourth down and only needed a yard for the first. A designed quarterback run was called with Dobbs attempting to get past the marker along the right side. He was stopped short.

The Bengals then drove into Cardinal territory. A lackluster offense in the first four games of the season appeared to have hit its stride Sunday in Glendale as Joe Burrow carved the Cardinals secondary apart all game.

The Bengals made it into the red zone before Kyzir White was called for a pass interference in the end zone, which gave Cincinnati a new set of downs at the 1. Burrow found Ja’Marr Chase in the back of the end zone two plays later in the fourth quarter. It was Chase’s third touchdown reception of the day.

“As a defensive staff, myself being the leader of that, we didn’t do enough on that side,” Gannon said. “You can’t let their best player beat you. And that’s what we just did.

“Point blank, there’s the game on defense. I’m pissed off about it. It’s my fault. We gotta get that cleaned up.”

Before the second-half collapse, the Cardinals appeared to be firing on all cylinders like they did in the second and third quarter last week against the 49ers and all game against the Cowboys two weeks prior.

Dobbs was orchestrating long drives down the field and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing was getting creative by lining up wideout Rondale Moore in the backfield. At one point, Moore broke free on a 41-yard run. But the Cardinals came away with no points after a turnover on downs.

“I thought it was too long for the push play,” Gannon said of the fourth-down try. “It looked like 2 (yards) to me.”

Cincinnati drove down the field on its first possession as Burrow connected with Chase for his first touchdown of the day. Burrow completed his first 10 pass attempts Sunday for 95 yards. He finished 35-of-44 overall for 315 yards and three touchdowns.

Burrow’s fast start allowed the Bengals to build to a 10-point lead, but the Cardinals battled back after Dobbs found Hollywood Brown for a 25-yard touchdown and then tight end Zach Ertz on the next drive for a 4-yard score. The Cardinals had a chance to build on its lead after a defensive stand at the 1-yard line, but a pass from Dobbs intended for Brown went through the hands of wideout Zach Pascal. It was picked off by Cam Taylor-Britt, who walked into the end zone. The Bengals never relinquished the lead.

“Turnovers are tough. We take pride in taking care of the football,” Dobbs said. “Probably a tight window, obviously, so I can’t make that decision with the ball. I gotta keep the ball safe, especially heightened awareness in that area of the field.”

Injuries began mounting for the Cardinals, especially in the secondary.

Antonio Hamilton left the game for a short period of time with an ankle injury in the first half. In the fourth quarter, he was pulled to be evaluated for a concussion. Safety Jalen Thompson left in the third quarter with a hamstring injury, leaving the Cardinals without their two starting safeties with Budda Baker still sidelined.

The Bengals took advantage right away, sending Chase down the middle of the field for a long touchdown. The wideout who made headlines for saying he was always “f—ing open” after last week’s loss made good on his claim. He finished with 15 receptions for 192 yards and the three touchdowns.

“That’s the NFL,” Gannon said of injuries in the secondary playing a role in Chase’s big day. “You watch games, there’s guys going in and out of the lineup … We had some new guys playing but you gotta step up and play and execute. It’s our job to put them in the right positions and help them out.”

Along with the two defenders, running back James Conner also left the game with a knee injury. Rookie Emari Demarcado came in to relinquish Conner, scoring his first NFL touchdown in the third quarter.

But the Bengals’ defense dug in and held the Cardinals scoreless throughout the fourth quarter. Dobbs threw to tight windows, narrowly avoiding multiple intercepted passes, and drives went nowhere. Dobbs finished 15-of-32 for 166 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, the last coming late in the fourth off a tipped pass. He also lost a fumble in the third quarter when he was sacked.

“We’ll fix it,” Dobs said. “We’ll take care of the football and be better.”

The Cardinals travel to Los Angeles next week to face the 2-3 Rams.