Late-season failures put pressure on Kingsbury, Cardinals

Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury was an offensive genius a few short weeks ago. w re's a sizable chunk of Arizona's fan base that wouldn't mind if he was out of a job.

Barring something very unexpected, that's t going to happen. But re's little doubt 41-year-old Kingsbury will enter his third season under pressure after a late-season collapse extended franchise's playoff drought to five years.

Arizona finished with an 8-8 record, which was a three-win improvement over previous season. problem is Cardinals raised expectations with a 6-3 start and n fell apart down stretch. last two weeks were downright painful: Arizona lost two games when playing against backup quarterbacks and scored a combined 19 points.

Kingsbury said on Monday that season “obviously didn't end way we wanted it to” but remains optimistic that frustration of falling just shy of playoffs will make franchise stronger in 2021.

“I think y're all learning experiences,” Kingsbury said. “As a staff, as players, we have to get better in those moments and those opportunities. re's question. We all kw we had two opportunities late, last two games, to have a chance to make playoffs and we didn't take advant of m.

"Those are things we've got to work on, work through, and you learn through some of your failures.”

But failures must turn into success soon. Quarterback Kyler Murray will be entering his third season and Cardinals what to take advant of building around him while he's still on his rookie contract and fairly inexpensive.

2019 top overall pick had an encouraging second season, throwing for 3,971 yards, 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also ran for 819 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Murray suffered an ankle injury on Sunday against Rams and missed a big chunk of game. He returned but couldn't rally Cardinals, who were held to a season-low in points in 18-7 loss that kept m out of postseason.

“We just have to be better in all phases,” Murray said. “I hope this motivates us as an organization. It’s an ugly feeling and body wants to feel like this, especially when we’ve all talked about it. We’ve kind of shot ourselves in foot. I feel like we should already be in playoffs, but we’re t.”

FITZGERALD'S FUTURE

It's become an offseason staple for Cardinals over past few years: y're waiting for word if veteran receiver Larry Fitzgerald will return for ar season.

37-year-old is one of most productive receivers in NFL history and beloved in desert, where he's easily most popular player since franchise moved to Arizona in 1988. His production has tailed off in recent seasons and he finished with a career low in catches (54), yards receiving (409) and touchdowns (1), but he's still useful for making tough catches in traffic and for his blocking.

He missed two games earlier this season after a bout with COVID-19 and didn't play in season finale because of a groin injury.

Kingsbury and teammates have made it clear y want Fitzgerald to return. receiver has several interests outside of football, including being a part owner of NBA's Phoenix Suns.

“That's tough to even think about,” Arizona left tackle D.J. Humphries said. “I don't even want to think about it. But he's put himself in position to be able to write his future however he wants it to go. Everyone will respect it. But it's hard to wrap your head around him t being in this building.”

MORE DECISIONS

Cardinals have to decide wher to bring back several big contributors, including three-time All-Pro cornerback Patrick Peterson, running back Kenyan Drake and linebacker Haason Reddick.

Peterson will be 31 years old in July. He had three interceptions and or good moments in 2020, but teams also weren't afraid to challenge him.

“I love Patrick Peterson, he kws that,” Kingsbury said. “We’ll see where that all goes.”

Drake, who will be 27 this month, ran for a career-high 955 yards and 10 touchdowns. He tailed off down stretch and averd just 4 yards per carry.

26-year-old Reddick had a breakout season with 12 1/2 sacks, 15 tackles for loss and 16 quarterback hits. Arizona would love to have him back, but re's little doubt he'll command serious money in free ncy.

BEFORE AND AFTER

It's fair to wonder if NFL defenses are starting to figure out how to slow down Kingsbury's “Air Raid" offense.

Cardinals topped 400 total yards in seven games during ir 6-3 start and were particularly effective on ground. During ir seven-game slide to end season, y topped 400 yards once.

THAT WORKED OUT

Cardinals made one of biggest moves of offseason when y added three-time All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins in a trade that sent running back David Johnson back to Houston Texans.

It's safe to say that's worked out well for Arizona.

Hopkins tied a career high with 115 catches and had 1,407 yards receiving and six touchdowns. He was also part of one of most spectacular moments of regular season when he jumped over three Buffalo Bills with 2 seconds left to secure a touchdown and a 32-30 win.

Im credits: AP