The Arizona Cardinals lost to the Carolina Panthers 36-30 in an overtime away loss, which is why the Cardinals are now eliminated from the playoffs.

There is no excuse to lose to a 3-11 team, regardless of injury, situation or other factors. This was a poor performance by all of the Cardinals teams, who were clearly unprepared to play against one of the NFL’s worst squads in their season.

Here’s what went wrong in an absolutely, undeniably and inexcusably terrible loss:

Don’t let those 30 points fool you, Arizona’s offense was completely stagnant when running back James Conner left with an injury. Conner rushed for 166 yards and a touchdown, most of them in the first half alone. That was, as it has often been, Arizona’s only real bright spot.

The game calls were inconsistent and they once again failed to take advantage of the porous air defense. Trey McBride barely played a role, Marvin Harrison Jr. failed to make an impact and Kyler Murray, aside from a flashy touchdown run, was a major factor in the loss.

Murray completed 20 of 29 passes for 202 yards, a touchdown and an interception that all but sealed the game for Carolina. While the 27-year-old quarterback didn’t exactly hurt his team early on, Murray faltered toward the end of the fourth quarter.

After throwing a rough, rushing touchdown to bring the score to 30-27 and getting the ball back. Arizona was in prime position to take a late lead.

Murray scrambled confusedly to his right on a second down play, then threw an underthrown and poorly attempted pass that was intercepted. McBride was open for the first down, in the same line of sight as Murray’s intended receiver in Michael Wilson.

It wasn’t the only problem with his play or the offense. Murray threw an immense number of quick, short and unproductive passes. Maybe it wasn’t entirely his fault, but he failed to extend plays when needed. Regardless, the game decision was once again an issue, and Arizona’s wideouts once again failed to find much opportunity.

Harrison didn’t turn around early for a pass that should have been a touchdown in the end zone, which resulted in a field goal. He failed to catch two passes he should have caught in overtime. He finished the game with just four receptions for 39 yards.

The Cardinals also turned the ball over deep in their own territory when there was a poor exchange between Murray and running back Michael Carter. They found opportunities to hinder themselves at every turn. In overtime, they completed seven plays with a net of -6 yards, a completely unacceptable performance.

Sure, there were a lot of injuries. Since the Cardinals had already lost Paris Johnson Jr., Mack Wilson and Trey Benson early in the game, they lost both Conner and OL Jonah Williams to injuries. That’s the reality of football and when you’re playing against a 3-11 team, those circumstances can’t be taken into account.

If Murray, Petzing, Harrison and the others fail to make a single field goal in overtime, it will be a disgrace for all of them at the same time. As I wrote, Harrison still has the rookie pass for now, but that will have to change quickly next season.

Murray was bad when it counted, but his playmaking was poor, his offensive line didn’t hold up, and the Cardinals offense once again couldn’t function without Conner.

Arizona’s defense, which has been crucial to them in recent weeks, has been exceptionally bad at the worst possible moment. They allowed 380 total yards of offense and 33 points. Panthers quarterback Bryce Young threw for just 158 ​​yards but threw two touchdowns and struggled for a third.

Cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting had a poor performance, allowing good yardage and a touchdown in coverage.

Arizona did record three official sacks, but only for nine yards, and one of those was a force out of bounds. The overall pressure remained inconsistent and the defense failed to defend the run at a drastic pace.

Carolina rushed for 243 yards and three scores. They managed 6.8 yards per carry. That’s just not good enough to win NFL games, and the Cardinals defensive line couldn’t handle a Panthers offensive line that was itself plagued by injuries.

The Cardinals entered Sunday’s game as the NFL’s least penalized team. This is an impressive achievement and should be recognized as a testament to Jonathan Gannon and his staff. Still, Arizona played exceptionally undisciplined football on Sunday.

However, the administration was certainly not perfect. There were a handful of game-winning penalties against the Cardinals that were borderline at best. But Arizona still had 11 penalties and 82 yards rushing, nine of which came in the first half.

To their credit, they kept order in the second half. But it was already too late. Although the Cardinals overcame a 20-3 deficit and took the game into overtime, their offense still had a lot of points on the board and their defense gave up points due to penalties and poor discipline.

The Cardinals’ season is now officially doomed to spoilsport against the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers. Since the team is morally and mentally at rock bottom, seven wins should be the upper limit in 2024.