THE STORY: Kyler Murray was so positive while talking during his postgame press conference on Sunday, following a difficult and sometimes offensively-ugly 20-13 loss to the Detroit Lions at State Farm Stadium, he was asked about the effort to embrace a moral victory.
The Cardinals quarterback wanted none of that, interrupting the point to say so.
The team built on the run couldn't against these NFC finalists from a year ago, and that can be an issue. The Cardinals (1-2) had just 77 yards on the ground, and 45 of those came from Murray's legs. A fantastic defensive effort – especially in the second half – against the Lions (2-1) should have been good enough.
So no, Murray was feeling the loss. But it wasn't the same as it once was.
"Losing is frustrating," Murray acknowledged. "I'm encouraged though. I'm encouraged because I know what could've been in that game.
"I am excited for the road ahead."
Coach Jonathan Gannon was equally upbeat, calling his team "resilient, which I am enthused about and which I told them." That the defense pitched a second-half shutout did mean something, keeping the Cardinals in a game that looked for awhile like it might get away.
But the script of the Cardinals' success is easy to understand, and when running back James Conner finished with as many yards Sunday (17 on nine carries) as he did on his first two runs of the blowout win over the Rams the week before, it portends possible struggles.
There were no holes from which to exploit. Murray's legs made a difference on Arizona's opening drive, when the Cardinals again marched down the field with ease and finished off with a 10-yard Murray-to-Marvin Harrison Jr. touchdown pass. But after that, Conner never had real opportunity.
"Honestly, we want to keep it simple and execute," tight end Tip Reiman said. "I don't feel (OC) Drew (Petzing) called a bad game. We just have to keep chopping. This is nothing to overanalyze."
It did impact the Cardinals' offensive decisions. Despite it being a 10-point game, the Cards did not run the ball in the fourth quarter. Their final 18 plays were called passes, although that did gain them a field goal that made it a one-score game.
"We have to find a way to get (the run game) going," Murray said.
Murray finished 21-of-34 for 207 yards, the touchdown and his first interception of the season, an end zone pick on a deep ball to Harrison that he lamented afterward, saying he thought the Cardinals were going to score on the third-quarter drive. He ran for 45 of the Cardinals' 77 yards on the ground.
The run game issues made third downs much harder; the Cardinals, leading the NFL in third-down percentage coming into the game, finished 1-for-9.
The Lions, meanwhile, ran for 187 yards.
As much as the Lions moved the ball on the ground, however, the Cardinals' defense stiffened and if it wasn't for a Mack Wilson Sr. interception for a touchdown not counting – more on that later – the defense could've had a Cardinals-carrying day.
"We just settled in," linebacker Kyzir White said after the Lions scored TDs on their first two drives. "As a team, we've just got to keep pushing forward."
That was the message Murray was delivering, and definitely the one Gannon had in his postgame thoughts, with another home game against the Commanders coming next week.
"That's a good football team," Gannon said. "If we keep playing like that and clean up some mistakes, we will get back on track."
TURNING POINT: It's hard to say it was anything other than the late first-half turn of events that became a 14-point swing. On what was going to be the final play before the two-minute warning, Lions quarterback Jared Goff took the snap and under heavy pressure threw a pass while being hit. Linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. grabbed the ball out of the air and was on his way for an easy 45-yard touchdown before everyone realized the officials were saying the clock hit the two-minute warning before the snap.
The Lions got to replay the third-and-12 and Jahmyr Gibbs ran it 14 yards up the middle. Three plays later, Goff hit Amon-Ra St. Brown on a quick one-yard pass – who quickly lateraled to Gibbs who finished the last 20 yards on a dazzling hook-and-lateral TD to raise the lead to 20-7. It was the last time the Lions scored in the game, but it was enough.
TV replays showed the clock was at 2:01 as the snap occurred, but referee Brad Rogers said in a pool report said the clock was at two minutes. "Mechanically, we have an official that is watching the clock and what he had as a ruling was the clock was at two minutes and the ball was snapped."
Rogers added the crew blew their whistles and "some of the players were still going because they couldn't hear our whistles apparently."
THE STANDOUTS: There were a handful on defense. Linebacker Dennis Gardeck didn't get a sack this week but got a big interception in Detroit territory – although the Cardinals couldn't turn it into points after being stopped on fourth down. Defensive lineman Dante Stills had an impressive six tackles from his up front position as well as his first sack of the season, and Mack Wilson had a sack and was all over the place despite losing his score.
Offensively, wide receiver Michael Wilson had his best game of the season, making eight receptions for 64 yards (and losing a ninth catch because of a penalty.
THE RIGHT TACKLE CAR WASH: Kelvin Beachum, who already was starting at right tackle for the injured Jonah Williams, missed the game with a hamstring injury. Third-string tackle Jackson Barton held up pretty well as Beachum's fill-in before departing with a toe injury. Fourth-stringer Charlie Heck, who has started 21 games in the NFL, became the Cardinals fourth right tackle in three games when he finished the final drive on Sunday.
JUSTIN JONES HURTING, MCBRIDE POSSIBLE CONCUSSION: The Cardinals had a handful of injuries on Sunday, but the most serious could end up being to starting defensive lineman Justin Jones, who left the game with a triceps injury (and was never called questionable, which seems to be the initial decision for most injuries.)
The Cardinals also lost tight end Trey McBride late in the game when he was evaluated for a concussion. He and Lions defensive back Brian Branch had a hellacious helmet-to-helmet collision on the Cardinals' final scoring drive after a McBride catch.
