Arizona Cardinals drop season finale to San Francisco 49ers; get NFC wild-card berth
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – When Drew Stanton suffered a sprained right knee on Dec. 11, the Cardinals quarterback position became bathed in spotlights. In the surrounding darkness, another question lingered.
Could the defense continue to play at a high level and help compensate for the inevitable mistakes of a young and inexperienced quarterback?
The answer at Levi's Stadium on Sunday was no. Ryan Lindley wasn't perfect against the 49ers, but he gave the Cardinals a chance to win. It was the defense that didn't hold up, and the Cardinals lost, 20-17 in the regular-season finale.
"Offensively, I thought we did a good enough job to win this game," coach Bruce Arians said. "We don't have to play perfect but we have to play much better around him."
The loss kept the Cardinals (11-5) from making franchise history by winning a 12th game, but the outcome didn't impact the team's playoff position.
That's because Seattle clinched the NFC West title by beating the Rams at the same time on Sunday. The Cardinals are a fifth seed and will play at Carolina in the wild-card round at 2:35 p.m. (Arizona time) Saturday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Lindley, a third-year pro who was cut in training camp and re-signed in November, played the best game of his career. The bar was not high, since Lindley had never thrown a touchdown pass in 225 previous attempts.
But he had two touchdown passes on Sunday, both in the first half, as the Cardinals took a 17-13 lead.
For the second consecutive week, a once-staunch defense was gouged by a running quarterback. Last week, it was Seattle's Russell Wilson rushing for 88 yards. On Sunday, it was the 49ers Colin Kaepernick, who rushed for 63 yards, mostly by scrambling after pass plays broke down.
A defense that used to force multiple turnovers a game, hasn't had one in two weeks.
"It's been huge," Arians said. "We're not getting any short fields, either through the return game, or turnovers. We're having to go the length of the field too often. In these critical games, especially on the road in the playoffs, they're going to be huge."
The 49ers took a 20-17 lead late in the third quarter, then put the hammer down repeatedly on the Cardinals. Frank Gore rushed for 69 of his 144 yards in the final quarter.
"For the last couple weeks, we haven't been able to consistently stop the run and we've been giving up big plays," safety Rashad Johnson said. "We've trying to say that's not who we are, but that's who we are right now. Until we get it fixed, that's going to be a big problem for us.
"If we're not motivated to put the work in this week in practice to have a conscious effort to fix those problems then we'll have the same result next week. I hope everybody puts it in their heads and stops living off the past."
Even though the Panthers won the NFC South with 7-8-1 record, for the Cardinals they present similar problems as the Seahawks and 49ers.
Cam Newton is the third mobile quarterback the Cardinals will have played in as many weeks.
"It's going to be three weeks in a row with the same style and we've got to learn from it," Arians said.
Two weeks ago, the Cardinals were 11-3 and a favorite to win the NFC West. Then Stanton suffered the knee injury, forcing Arians to use Lindley.
The Cardinals have lost two consecutive games, and it's convenient to place most of the blame on the injuries at quarterback.
Lindley was horrible last week against Seattle, but looked like a different player on Sunday. He did have three passes intercepted, but he also threw for two touchdowns and 316 yards.
Receiver Michael Floyd came through for Lindley on Sunday, catching eight passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns.
"Coach said it this week, everyone had to step their game up," Floyd said, "especially being wide receivers making plays for our quarterback."
Both Floyd's touchdowns came in the first half, and the Cardinals led, 17-13, at halftime
They looked primed to build upon that lead. But Lindley's second interception ended a promising possession, and the 49ers drove 82 yards for a touchdown to take the lead.
The Cardinals had the 49ers stopped but a hands to the face penalty on defensive lineman Tommy Kelly on third down kept the drive going.
"I was just trying to punch through with my hands and a got a little too high," Kelly said. "It was an accident, a terrible accident at the wrong time."
Three plays later, quarterback Colin Kaepernick hit fullback Bruce Miller with a three-yard touchdown pass to give the 49ers a 20-17 lead with 25 seconds left in the quarter.
No one scored in the fourth quarter, giving Jim Harbaugh a victory in his final game as 49ers head coach. He left the field with a game ball and his clothes drenched from an ice-water bath.
The Cardinals departed feeling better about their offense and wondering what's happened to their defense.
"We really don't have time to mope," linebacker Lorenzo Alexander said. "For us not to be a one-and-done team, we have to play better on defense. We have to be able to get our swagger back like we were playing with in the beginning of the year. That is our whole mindset this week, get back to who we are, get back to our roots and get back to our foundation of stopping the run."
GAME PHOTOS: CARDINALS AT 49ERS
