After the win against the Denver Broncos, a lot of us had hope for this game, the Defense looked good, and the offense showed some promise. Today though was just one big disappointment, and the score final score doesn't show how much Carolina dominated this game. This was a hard game to watch, and the Cardinals were manhandled on both sides of the ball. Simple as that.
Positives:
Larry Fitzgerald had a good game, catching 9 passes (on 10 targets) for 125 Yards, this also got him to 78 catches for 986 Yards (5 Touchdowns) on the season. Fitz also became the second youngest receiver to reach 8,000 Yards (Randy Moss is the youngest) A 41 Yard pass he caught late in the game was also his first catch of over 40 yards since the 2008 season ended, kind of shocking that a guy with as much talent as Fitz hasn't caught a pass over 40 yards in that long, especially considering all of the big plays he had in 2008.
Dan Williams was solid again, he had 5 Tackles and he seemed to be in on a lot of plays. He looks like the answer at Nose Tackle.
Andre Roberts is also looking good as a returner, after LaRod Stephens-Howling left with a hamstring injury he returned his first kick 47 yards. Unfortunately, the Cardinals could do nothing with the good field position.
Calais Campbell and Paris Lenon each had a sack.
John Skelton didn't have a great game, and he struggled early, but in the 4th Quarter with the no huddle offense he seemed to play better, and he finished the game 17 of 33 for 196 Yards and a Pick. He did show some good mobility on some scrambles too. For a rookie making his first road game start, he looked good.
After a Tim Hightower fumble in the Red Zone, Steve Breaston recovered it in the End Zone for a Touchdown. The only one of the game for the Cardinals
The Panthers were 1 of 4 in the Red Zone
Negatives:
To keep it simple, the Cardinals were going up against a struggling team with a 1-12 record, and a struggling Quarterback. They allowed the Panthers to rush for 177 yards on 45 carries, Jimmy Clausen who had only 1 Touchdown against 7 Interceptions threw a Touchdown and he wasn't forced to do very much, and the Cardinals Offense could not get anything done when the Defense actually could get a stop.
The Cardinals were dominated in the Time of Possession battle again, the Panthers had the ball for 37 minutes, the Cardinals had it for 23 minutes.
The Cardinals could not run the ball, Beanie Wells had 11 yards on 8 carries, Tim Hightower had 16 yards on 6 carries, and as a whole the Cardinals had 43 yards on 17 carries. The Offensive Line could not open up any holes for the Backs.
Following an Interception by Skelton, the Panthers scored on their next play with a 16 yard TD pass by Clausen.
The Cardinals had several passes dropped again, I don't remember the exact number but I'm sure it is over 4 or 5. One of the drops was on a play that would have been a Touchdown if it was caught.
Reggie Walker was called for Roughing the Punter
The Cardinals failed to recover both of Jay Feely's onside kick attempts, one of them didn't even make it past the 10 yards that it has to go for the Cardinals to recover it.
The Cardinals were 1 of 3 in the Red Zone
The Cardinals were 4 of 15 on 3rd Down.