Life in the National Football League’s winningest division just got a little more difficult — and a little more excruciating — for the Arizona Cardinals.
Not only did the Cardinals lose their fourth straight in a 31-27, last-minute loss at Indianapolis on Sunday, they also lost another starter when wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. went out.
Backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett made a quality first start of the season in place of Kyler Murray, completing 27 of 44 passes for 320 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, and the Cardinals had a season-high 400 yards in total offense.
But offense stalled the Colts’ 9-yard line in the final minute, when he was sacked on a scramble and threw two incomplete passes to turn the ball over on downs with 53 seconds remaining.
Cardinals Injury List Grows
Brissett, in his first season as Murray’s backup, was forced into action after Murray suffered an mid-foot sprain in the fourth quarter of a disastrous 22-21 loss to Tennessee the week before.
No. 1 receiver Harrison missed the second half of the Colts’ game after being evaluated for a concussion. The back of Harrison’s head struck the playing surface following a 21-yard reception with 6:11 remaining in the second quarter, and he was ruled out after observation.
New starting running back Emari Demercado also missed the second half with an ankle injury.
The Cardinals’ four-point loss Sunday was their largest of the season. The others were by one, three and one point.
“It’s hard. It’s hard,” Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon told reporters. “We’re in a tough spot. Four in a row is tough. But we’ll be resilient.”
NFC West Remains Most Competitive Division
The status for both Murray and Harrison is unclear as the Cardinals (2-4) prepare for Week 7 matchup against the Green Bay Packers (3-1-1) before a Week 8 bye.
The Cardinals could choose to err on the side of caution and hold both out against the Packers, although the immediacy of gaining ground in the ultra-competitive NFC West also will be a factor.
San Francisco, Seattle and the Los Angeles Rams and tied for the NFC West lead at 4-2, two games clear of the Cardinals. The Seahawks and Rams won on the road Sunday, when the 49ers fell at Tampa Bay to drop into the tie.
The Cardinals already have lost to the Seahawks and 49ers this season, muddying their tie-breaker scenario six games into a season that already has included a 17-week load of frustration.
No. 1 running back James Conner was lost for the season with a right foot injury suffered in the 16-15 loss to San Francisco in Week 3, and backup Trey Benson is on injured reserve after suffering a knee injury the following week.
Down to the Final Possession … Again
The Cardinals’ loss to the 49ers was decided on the final play, when Eddy Piniero made 35-yard field goal as time expired.
Home losses to Seattle and Tennessee the next two weeks came exactly the same way, on final-play field goals.
The Seahawks’ Jason Myers made a 52-yard field goal as time expired in a 23-20 Week 4 win, a kick set up when the Cardinals’ kickoff after their game-tying touchdown with 28 seconds remaining fell short of the landing zone and gave the Seahawks possession at their 40.
The Tennessee game was more dramatic.
Arizona led 21-6 before Joey Slye’s 29-field goal capped an incredible turn of events in the final 13 minutes of the fourth quarter as the Titans scored 16 straight points for their first and only win.
Demercado inexplicably lost the ball inches short of the goal line in a 21-6 game on what would have been a 72-yard run for the clinching touchdown. Instead, the ball bounced out of the end zone for a touchback and the Titans went 80 yards for a score.
The Titans closed to within 21-19 with four minutes left on another off-script play, when Arizona safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson intercepted a Cam Ward pass at the Cardinals’ 5-yard line but fumbled and the Titans recovered in the end zone.
Tennessee went 71 yards for the winning field goal after Arizona was forced to punt.
The Cardinals fined coach Jonathan Gannon $100,000 the next day, after video showed Gannon struck Emercado with his right hand after angrily confronting him on the sideline following the play.
Then Sunday, Arizona reached the 9-yard line with 1:10 remaining before failing to get any closer on their last three plays. The final play, a pass intended for tight end Trey McBride in the end zone, sailed wide of McBride, who thought he was bumped and had a heated response.
McBride was more subdued afterward.
“I thought I got a little pass interference,” McBride told reporters. “They didn’t think so.”
Murray has completed 68.3 percent of his passes for 962 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions in the first five games, and has rushed for 173 yards and a score. Whenever he returns he will start, Gannon said.
“The speech that ‘JG’ gave us after the game was, ‘We’re not as far as we think, but we still have a lot of work to do,’” Brissett said. “Guys accepted that challenge.”
