Jermaine Gresham was trying to defend a teammate.
Even so, the Cardinals tight end knows he made a mistake by trying to pull a Raiders player off Larry Fitzgerald late in Sunday's 23-21 loss. The offense had the ball and was trying to milk the clock down as low as possible before punting back to Oakland.
Not only did Gresham's unnecessary roughness call cost the Cardinals 15 yards, but it stopped the clock. The Raiders got the ball back on their game-winning drive with 1:53 remaining and would have had 40 seconds less if not for Gresham's penalty.
"It was just a dumb play by me," Gresham said. "I turned around and saw my guy on the ground. It was a stupid thing. You're not coached that. You're not taught that. They didn't bring me here to do that. It was stupid, and I cost us the game."
Coach Steve Wilks said the Raiders were doing extracurriculars throughout the game but told his players not to engage.
"The guy as (Gresham) explained to me was doing something at the bottom of the pile," Wilks said. "Regardless of the situation, we can't be enticed by that."
Quarterback Josh Rosen said he didn't get a great look at the scene as it unfolded, but understands the urge to have a teammate's back, especially when it's a player of Fitzgerald's stature.
"He's one of the best football players to ever grace this field and the NFL is lucky to have him," Rosen said. "If you're just going to lie on him and be disrespectful, that's just not going to fly, especially with Jermaine on your team. Push and shove me, whatever. That's Mr. Fitzgerald. Don't do that. I don't care what situation or whatever. Our guys on our team, we're going to stay together, and we got each other's backs."
ANDY LEE CONTINUES STELLAR SEASON
Punter Andy Lee has a case to make the Pro Bowl due to an impressive year, and it continued on Sunday. He punted the ball eight times for 418 yards, averaging 52.3 yards per punt with a net average of 45.9 yards.
Lee dropped a pair of punts inside the 20, including one in the fourth quarter that was downed at the 2-yard-line. He had a long of 60.
CORNERBACK LEONARD JOHNSON SEES ACTION
The Cardinals signed cornerback Leonard Johnson on Wednesday and he saw action on defense in the contest. Jamar Taylor was used as the third cornerback to begin the game, but he and Johnson alternated after Taylor gave up a 23-yard touchdown to Jared Cook on the Raiders' third offensive play.
Johnson played for Wilks with the Panthers previously, so he has familiarity with the defensive system.
BUCANNON LEAVES GAME WITH INJURY
Linebacker Deone Bucannon saw a decent amount of playing time in the base defense but injured his chest in the second half and didn't return. Bucannon finished with one tackle.
Defensive tackle Olsen Pierre went to the locker room to check on an unspecified injury but later returned to the game. He finished with a tackle and a quarterback hit.
