NFL Gameday: Cardinals look to right ship against Ravens

Sometimes, it’s a poorly-played quarter or even a sloppy half.

Is Marc Trestman getting more flack than he should? But they simply aren’t putting up as many points as their opponents, and close losses against good teams don’t give you any moral victories in the NFL.

The Baltimore Ravens travel to University of Phoenix Stadium Monday night to face the Arizona Cardinals. The second takeaway came via safety Tony Jefferson’s interception of Joe Flacco in the end zone in the final seconds.

It was just the last of a flurry of mistakes. The defense forced a three-and-out. They converted four of their first five.

But then it happened. The Cardinals are clearly the better team, but would anybody be surprised if the Ravens hung close in this game? He appeared to get tackled, but was pulled down on top of a player.

The Ravens will start the third quarter with the ball. The two teams rank in the top 10 in terms of passing yards per game with Arizona higher up at sixth and the Ravens No. 10.

“I was out there working like I always do”, he said, “but it’s an opportunity for other guys to be able get a few experience and for others to understand what they’re doing”.

For much of the past week, the talk around the Arizona Cardinals’ Tempe training facility centered around the team’s ability – or inability, really – to finish games. The bye coming after this coming weekend’s game in Cleveland will be well placed. However, the play was called back for illegal formation, because Urschel was on the end of the line of scrimmage and not covered up by a tight end or wide receiver. “Didn’t finish the job; got a good punt, good protection on the last one and the defense held up”. Sure, it was another one-possession loss.

If it comes to it, I would probably list Jaron Brown above Aiken, mainly because the Cardinals could easily blow this game open in the first half. However, Catanzaro missed the extra point, leaving the score at 26-10. The Cardinals have a special teams touchdown and three defensive touchdowns.

A blocked punt and recovery set up a 1-yard touchdown pass from Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco to fullback Kyle Juszczyk with 4:26 to play, and a successful two-point conversion cut Arizona’s lead to eight points. “It’s loud out there and it was just a little bit too hectic”.

The difficulty in communication clearly frustrated Flacco, who came up just short again of leading the Ravens on a comeback on their final drive of the game. But a promising drive ended with Flacco’s interception in the end zone.

Palmer completed 20 of 29 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns. He didn’t turn the ball over.

A victory would keep the Cardinals more than a game ahead of everyone in the NFC West.

The Ravens could use a big effort from running back Justin Forsett, who had consecutive 100-yard games before he was limited to 62 yards last week.

It’s the Baltimore Ravens (1-5) at the Arizona Cardinals (4-2) on Monday Night Football in NFL week 7 2015 action on Monday, October 26, 2015.