By Ed Morrone
This past week’s edition of Monday Night Football between the Arizona Cardinals and Chicago Bears was not a football game. No, both teams have to show up in order to call it an actual game, and one of them certainly needs to avoid an epic collapse for you to even consider calling it something as kind as a game. So what exactly happened three days ago in what proved, in this writer’s mind, to be the ugliest choke job ever in an NFL game?
Well, for starters, the game began lopsided, but not the way anyone expected. Arizona (who came into the game with a 1-4 record) rookie quarterback Matt Leinart came out on fire, slinging two first quarter touchdown passes and leading the Cardinals to a 20-0 halftime lead over the undefeated Bears. Considering the Bears were 11-point favorites and that their defense had demolished every other quarterback it had faced so far, puzzled fans everywhere were left scratching their heads.
Most of the third quarter went by without much incident-each team traded field goals-and it appeared Arizona was on its way to a shocking upset. But still, this was the Arizona Cardinals we were talking about here, so something had to give.
“Hey,” I turned to my roommate and said. “Watch the Cardinals blow this lead.”
I didn’t really think there was a chance of this happening, but it felt like it needed to be said. The Cardinals wrote the book on underachieving, and despite how well they were playing and how bad they were making the powerful Bears look, nothing seemed safe with over 17 minutes remaining.
Then, it happened. At his own 15, Leinart dropped back to pass. Bears rookie defensive end Mark Anderson barreled through Arizona’s paper mache-thin offensive line untouched and blindsided Leinart. He fumbled, and safety Mike Brown returned it three yards for a touchdown. 23-10.
The Cardinals responded by intercepting Rex Grossman and returning it for a score. But wait, this is Arizona, so something has to go wrong. Yup, Darnell Dockett’s knee hit the turf after he picked it off. No touchdown.
Later, Cardinals RB Edgerrin James is stripped by Brian Urlacher, and Charles Tillman picks it up and rumbles 40-yards for a 23-17 score.
With 3:17 to go, Arizona punts it away after another failed drive. Devin Hester takes the ball at his own 17 and rumbles 83 yards untouched into the end zone before a now-silent and miserable crowd of 63,977 at Cardinals Stadium. 24-23, Chicago.
Leinart proceeded to lead the Cards down to Chicago’s 23 yard line and pro bowl kicker Neil Rackers is set for the game-winning kick. But this is Arizona, and these are the Cardinals. The 40-yard kick sailed wide left. Final score: Bears 24, Cardinals 23.
Did that really just happen?
Yes, it did happen, because as we’ve said several times already here, these are the Arizona Cardinals! It’s a franchise that knows nothing but futility. Since 1984, the Cardinals have made the playoffs once (1998). The franchise’s total record between 1984 and right now? A very lusty 129-232. Only the currently-awful 49ers have stopped the Cardinals from finishing in last place every year since 2000.
In 2004, Arizona brought in proven winner Dennis Green to lead the team back to the playoffs. The team drafted Leinart and Pro Bowl receiver Larry Fitzgerald. This past offseason, it awarded James, a five-time 1,000-yard rusher with Indianapolis, a monster contract in hopes he’d be the missing link, only to see him rush for 2.7 yards-per-carry through the first six games. Noticing a pattern?
“The way things have turned out is just unreal,” James said following the Monday night collapse. “This is some of the weirdest stuff I have ever seen in these past six weeks.”
Welcome to Arizona, Edge, where NFL dreams go to die.
Up next for the Cardinals? A game at the Oakland Raiders, a team many is picking to be the first NFL team to finish 0-16.
It’s a game Green’s bunch certainly should win, but who knows? After all, these are the Arizona Cardinals.