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And so ends the 2012 NFL Pre-season.
In the finale against the Denver Broncos, the Arizona Cardinals lost 16-13, ending the pre-season with a record of 1-4.
Hit the jump for details from the game.
Ryan "Lindsanity" Lindley got the start (His first of the pre-season), and although he made some rookie mistakes, he had a decent performance. Going 14-26 for 176 yards, Lindley even threw for a TD, throwing a 22 yard pass to rookie WR Michael Floyd, who acrobatically pulled it down mid-air to put 6 points on the scoreboard. However, Lindley did throw an interception, which was the result of a mis-communicated pass to WR Isaiah Williams, who ended the night with 3 receptions for 121 yards. QB Richard Bartel also came in for the Cardinals, going 4-5 for 92 yards. Unfortunately, his night ended with a left-shoulder sprain, bringing Lindley back in the game.
It was a good night for Ray Horton's defense. They were able to limit the Broncos offense to only 13 points, and even though Peyton Manning didn't take a snap, they were able to keep the other three Broncos QB's (Caleb Hanie, Adam Weber, and Brock Osweiler) to under 100 yards each. CB Credzon Butler even managed to intercept Osweiler, and return it 20 yards. They were also able to dominate on 3rd downs, as the Broncos offense only had a 3rd down efficiency of 4-13.
On the special teams side of it, K Jay Feely went 2-4 on FG's, making a 41 and 35-yarder. William Powell led the Cardinals returners, taking 2 kick returns for 66 yards. However, the Cardinals ST did let up a 103 yard return by Omar Bolden for a TD in the 3rd Quarter, giving Denver their only TD of the game.
The time of possession for the Cardinals was 30:44, vs. 29:16 for the Broncos. They had 14 1st downs, 4 punts, and 5 penalties, which resulted in 30 yards for the Broncos.
Next Sunday, the Cardinals travel to Seattle to open the regular season against the Seahawks. In what should be a competitive game against the two NFC West rivals, the Cardinals will be looking to start the season strong.
Until then, we'll just have to wait and see which Cardinals QB gets the start in Week 1.