The word "finish"
isn't supposed to be an ugly "F"
word, but the Cardinals have turned it into one this season. The only thing they've polished off is the season.
The latest fiasco came Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium. The Cardinals led the Ravens by 21 points in the second quarter, by 18 at halftime and were tied with possession of the ball late. But they couldn't finish and went home with a 30-27 loss when kicker Billy Cundiff made a 25-yard field goal as time expired.
It was the sixth consecutive loss for the Cardinals (1-6) and the fourth in which they've blown a lead in the second half.
"A lot of us are in disbelief,"
receiver Larry Fitzgerald said. "Coming up short like this is getting frustrating, and it's getting old."
It's also become familiar, as much a part of the 2011 Cardinals as the birds on their helmets.
The Cardinals did so much right in the first half, and nearly everything wrong in the second.
Patrick Peterson returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown. The defense forced two turnovers, and the offense, though hardly spectacular, did enough to help give the Cardinals a 24-6 lead at halftime.
"I thought we were in good shape,"
quarterback Kevin Kolb said. "Things were going our way. We knew what was coming in the second half. You can't let down in this league, especially against a team like this. It wasn't a lack of focus; it was a lack of execution."
All the Cardinals did in the first half, as it turns out, was get the Ravens' attention.
"We woke up, plain and simple,"
said receiver Anquan Boldin, a former Cardinals player.
The Ravens did anything they wanted in the second half. Quarterback Joe Flacco continually threw to Boldin, and the Cardinals went through three cornerbacks trying to shut him down.
Boldin finished with seven catches for 145 yards; five of them and 117 yards came in the third quarter. In addition, he drew three pass-interference calls against three cornerbacks: A.J. Jefferson, Richard Marshall and Peterson.
Boldin didn't score, but his performance in the third quarter set up three short touchdown runs by Ray Rice, the last of which gave the Ravens a three-point lead early in the fourth quarter.
A handful of Cardinals implied afterward that Boldin initiated his share of the contact, too.
"There was a lot of pushing and shoving going on, on both sides of the ball,"
coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "Unfortunately, we got called for some big plays. He (Boldin) made some good catches."
The Cardinals offense never responded in kind. Kolb was sacked six times and completed just 10 of 21 passes. Fitzgerald had a 66-yard reception but just two other catches as he again went long periods without being targeted.
Not that Kolb had much time to look for him. The Ravens applied constant pressure, mostly because they had the wisdom to draft Terrell Suggs in 2003 and the Cardinals didn't.
The Cardinals have been searching for an elite rusher ever since.
Suggs, who played at Arizona State, had 13 tackles, a sack, four tackles for a loss and two more hits on the quarterback. Left tackle Levi Brown and right tackle Brandon Keith did nothing to make Suggs look ordinary.
Not that Suggs was satisfied.
"I left some things on the field,"
Suggs said.
It had to be a watch, or a wallet or a mouthpiece, because it's hard to imagine Suggs having a bigger impact on a game than he did Sunday.
The Cardinals responded just once in the second half. After the Ravens went ahead by three, the Cardinals drove 53 yards to the 27. Jay Feely's 45-yard field goal tied the score with 8:55 remaining.
The defense forced punts on the next two possessions, but the offense was overwhelmed and couldn't respond.
Finally, the Ravens took over at the Arizona 44 with 52 seconds remaining. A 36-yard pass to Torrey Smith set up the winning field goal, which gave the Ravens the biggest comeback victory in franchise history.
The Cardinals left town muttering, again, about their inability to, well, you know.
"We just have to learn how to finish,"
Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson said. "We don't have a lights-out mentality to finish teams off."
Cardinals report
Key player: Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs spent the day in the Cardinals backfield. He had 13 tackles, including four for a loss. He had a sack and four quarterback hits.
Key moment: The Cardinals led 24-20 late in the third quarter when Kevin Kolb dropped back to pass on first down. He was hit by Suggs, and the ball was intercepted and returned to the Arizona 22. Baltimore scored to go ahead.
Injury report: Kolb (right foot), FB Anthony Sherman (left ankle), TE Rob Housler (groin). All we be evaluated Monday.
Quote: "I'm not stunned. It wasn't like they made a miraculous Hail Mary catch. They adjusted their game plan, and they executed, and we have to get better at finishing."
- Cardinals linebacker Paris Lenon
Up next: Rams (1-6) at Cardinals (1-6), 2:15 p.m. Sunday, University of Phoenix Stadium.
View from the press box
After each loss, the Cardinals have reminded us that there is plenty of football left to be played. That has sounded more ominous each week. There are nine games left, and this team hasn't given anyone reasons to plan their Sundays around watching it. Sure, the Cardinals still are playing hard, as if people should give them credit for that. Even amateurs should play hard every week. All Cardinals fans are asking at this point is for their team to show improvement. And they are still waiting.
