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    • Marvin Harrison Jr. is out with a concussion, but it could have been worse
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    Marvin Harrison Jr. is out with a concussion, but it could have been worse

    Kathleen William Posted on

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    GREEN BAY, Wis. – It could have been worse.

    The Arizona Cardinals lost 34-13 to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday in a game that was more one-sided than a cheese wedge.

    It could easily have been a 40 or even 50 point loss.

    “We got beat pretty good by a good football team,” Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said after the loss. “We just didn’t compete smart enough today.”

    You can say it that way too.

    “We made one mistake after another,” Kyler Murray said.

    There were penalties (13 for 100 yards), turnovers (three lost fumbles) and a general ineptitude that sapped all the goodwill the Cardinals had built with their comeback win over San Francisco in Week 5.

    “It’s frustrating,” Murray said. “To be a good team you have to be consistent. I think we just have to look in the mirror. We can’t feel like we’ve done something just because we beat the 49ers last week.”

    It was a “add injury to insult” situation.

    Marvin Harrison Jr. suffered a concussion in the second quarter shortly after dropping a pass that hit him in the hands.

    The only other time he was targeted was Harrison running a 5-yard route on third-and-9. On that play, Kyler Murray threw the ball 15 yards downfield, expecting Harrison to run under the pass.

    It was another miscommunication between the franchise quarterback and the star rookie receiver.

    “That was my fault,” Murray said. “It was my fault.”

    Perhaps. But to me it sounded like a dairy farmer taking the blame for someone stepping on a cowpie while inspecting the barn.

    Either way, Harrison could miss several weeks. The extent of his concussion is not yet clear. He left the field on his own and the collision was not particularly serious by NFL standards.

    On defense, Sean Murphy-Bunting was sidelined in the third quarter with a neck injury.

    He must have gotten hurt watching Packers receiver Romeo Doubs run past for a touchdown. Either that, or Murphy-Bunting is keeping his pride on his back and it was hurt when he was penalized twice for holding third on the same drive.

    Not that the loss was his fault.

    The game was decided early after Green Bay took a 24-0 lead in the second quarter and went all out from there.

    It was an ugly phase of football.

    The Packers had their longest drive of the season, a 6:42 touchdown march that covered 80 yards in 11 plays, making the score 14-0 early in the second quarter.

    Arizona responded with a three-pointer.

    Green Bay then scored on a 12-play, 72-yard field goal drive with 6:48 left. That's 17-0 and the two longest drives of the year – if you count.

    Meanwhile, Arizona responded with another three-pointer.

    The Packers then went 44 yards in 7 seconds in what was easily their shortest touchdown drive of the season, taking a 24-0 lead.

    The biggest problem was that the Cardinals were fumbled up front.

    Jordan Love had more time in his pocket than a miser's wallet.

    He had so much time that the children born when he fell behind had already graduated by the time he threw the ball.

    He had so much time that he could have counted the Cheesehead Hats among the 77,773 fans in the stands.

    “We have to do a better job of influencing the quarterback,” Gannon said. “It starts with me.”

    Maybe Gannon plans on eating enough kringles and apple fritters to play D-line?

    After the game, players insisted that every mistake was something they could correct.

    “These are fixable things,” Murray said. “That’s the big thing. … They were just mental breakdowns.”

    Let's hope so.

    The Cardinals can still make a run and end up in the playoffs, and who knows what can happen from there. But they have to learn it pretty quickly.

    If they lay more eggs like this, it will be another season of bad weather for the birds.

    But they know it.

    “Nobody flinches,” Murray said. “No one flinches. We’re still in the middle of it all.”

    Reach Moore at [email protected] or 602-444-2236. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @SayingMoore.

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    Kathleen William
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