The Cardinals wanted Larry Fitzgerald to get his record at home -- enough catches to say he had more in his career than anyone in NFL history other than a man who was in attendance Sunday, Jerry Rice -- but it wasn't hard to see Fitz's mood coming once he got it. It came in the dying seconds of another loss, and it was apparent when Fitz spoke afterward.
"Three home games out of four and we don't come out with a win," Fitzgerald said. "That's pretty depressing."
Even in a season where the expectations weren't high, where progress would be measured more about the rookie quarterback than wins and losses, no one in that locker room saw a month like September coming, with so many home games and no results in the victory column.
The Cardinals kind of feel like the leaky dike right now, trying to plug a hole or two one place and other holes springing open. At some point, if the Cardinals don't start scoring touchdown consistently, it's going to tough to do much -- even as players who were around last season talk about how the offense (pretty clearly) is better than anything the team did a season ago.
The team has to be holding its breath on wide receiver Christian Kirk, who looked like he hurt his knee or leg with a nasty-looking awkward tackle late Sunday. If they lose Kirk for any amount of time, that could be a gut punch for whatever the offense might be able to grow into, at least in the near future.
"You don't want to get used to losing," said linebacker Terrell Suggs, who did very little of it during his 16 previous years in Baltimore. "We're all committed to winning and winning now. We just have to do that."
On to Cincinnati.
-- Kicker Zane Gonzalez had made all nine of his field goals coming into the game. He missed two of three Sunday, and while it wasn't the reason for the loss, it helped change the complexion of the game. Gonzalez said having a new holder -- rookie Ryan Winslow was the punter and holder with Andy Lee inactive with a hip flexor -- was not a factor. Kickers aren't going to make every field goal. But it was a tough day to have a tough day.
-- Suggs had a very good all-around game, with 1½ sacks and eight tackles. I don't know if you can count on that production every game from a player who is 36, but it is always good to see he still has it in him. He also had a strip-sack, something the Cardinals have been good at this season (although the Seahawks recovered.)
-- There was one play that stood out to me fore Kyler Murray that no one will remember. First, on a dropback into the end zone, he came dangerously close to stepping on the back end line for a safety and going all Orlovsky. But he didn't, and as he rolled right, it looked like the same exact play he had in the opener. On that play, Murray threw his first NFL interception because he tried to force a pass that wasn't there. Sunday, he threw the ball away. Baby steps.
-- It'll be intriguing to see how much this Chase Edmonds use will go, along with David Johnson, going forward. Especially if Kirk is down and/or defenses keep playing back.
-- Rookie defensive lineman Zach Allen hurt his shoulder and left the game, but even before that he was replaced in the starting lineup by veteran Jonathan Bullard. And cornerback Kevin Peterson replaced Chris Jones early in the game as defensive coordinator Vance Joseph made some depth chart moves.
-- Still not very many snaps on offense for rookie wideout Andy Isabella, but Isabella did have a carry on a fly sweep. It gained 16 yards, but Isabella only got credit for 5 after a holding call.
-- The tackling was sloppy much too often. For a defense that doesn't have much margin for error -- if any -- that doesn't work. Same goes for the 15-yard penalties Tramaine Brock (for swiping at Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf after a play) and Chandler Jones (for roughing Russell Wilson) got late. Both helped the Seahawks extend the painfully long eight-plus-minute drive on their final TD possession.
-- Winslow netted 48 yards a punt on three punts in place of Lee.
-- For anyone doing the math, Fitz is still 223 receptions behind Jerry Rice. If we give Fitz an average of five receptions a game, he would still need to play another 45 games to surpass Rice. That would mean Fitzgerald would have to play into the 2022 season -- and again, that's assuming he'd average five catches a game.
That's enough for tonight.
