What We Learned in Cardinals' Stunning Defeat to Packers

Against the 49ers, Seahawks, Titans, Colts and now Packers, the Cardinals’ defense allowed a go-ahead or game-winning drive in the final five minutes. Aside from the Colts game, Arizona allowed a score in the final two minutes.

That included the Josh Jacobs go-ahead touchdown with 1:50 to go in the game, with Green Bay scoring another touchdown to begin the fourth quarter. That gave the Packers more points in the final quarter than it did in the first three periods of the ballgame.

It’s become a common theme for Arizona’s defense, as it can’t seem to come up with any sort of big play. The Packers went for it on fourth-and-2 with just over two minutes to go — a perfect opportunity for the defense to show what it’s made of — but instead, they allowed a 15-yard completion.

After that, it was inevitable that Green Bay would score the go-ahead touchdown, although it may have been inevitable the whole time. In each of Arizona’s five straight losses, the defense has allowed a scoring drive on the opponent’s last full drive of the game, and in each of those games, that was the difference.

The offense couldn’t pick up the slack, but it was hardly the issue. At a certain point, you’d hope that the defense could come around and get a big stop, but we’ve learned that the Cardinals aren’t at that point yet.

When targeted at a high rate, Trey McBride is as dangerous as ever

A bright spot in an otherwise heartbreaking result for Arizona was tight end Trey McBride. He totaled 10 catches on 13 targets, both the most he’s had this season. McBride added 74 yards and two touchdowns as well to round out his stellar day.

This was the first time in McBride’s career that he was able to get in the end zone twice, as the tight end has really come into his own of late. Brissett has displayed that McBride is his favorite target, and it’s hard to argue why.

When McBride is involved, the Cardinals’ offense operates better, and that’s painfully obvious. On Arizona’s last drive of the game, McBride was targeted just once, resulting in a turnover on downs, sealing the victory for the Packers.

The Green Bay defense made plays when it needed to, but for the vast majority of the game it was no match for how McBride was playing. In an offense that has a few other weapons, McBride is the clear No. 1 target, and you could argue that Arizona is a little too reliant on him.

Whether that’s the case or not, McBride is a special talent. Although the result didn’t go their way, the Cardinals learned that they have a tight end they can depend on game in and game out, particularly in the red zone as of late.

Jacoby Brissett gave Cardinals chance to win, but can't overcome offensive line woes

Brissett played another solid game, no doubt about that, but he couldn’t do enough to overcome the offensive line being overmatched as the game went on.

The Packers totaled six sacks throughout the game, with two of them coming in crucial spots in the fourth quarter. Green Bay pressured Brissett on almost every play he was on the field for, and Brissett couldn’t respond.

Arizona scored just three points in the fourth quarter. That’s not going to get it done, especially when the defense continually allowed go-ahead drives. Yes, Brissett gave the Cardinals a chance to win for the second straight game, but he couldn’t lead the game-winning drive on both occasions.

Brissett was good, but just not great. He didn’t take the game over, while he let the offensive line’s woes prevent a game-winning score.

For a backup quarterback, that’s not necessarily the expectation, but we’ve learned that while Brissett won’t necessarily lose you a game, he won’t be the difference in a victory either.