After six years, the Arizona Cardinals are back in the playoffs. However, there is nothing to be happy about, after all, the team is currently being haunted by a losing streak after a perfect start to the season. But what is to blame for the fall of the red birds?

Glendale/Munich – “It’s just bad football.”

It would be hard to sum up the Arizona Cardinals’ current situation any better, especially since those words came from quarterback Kyler Murray himself.

A few weeks ago, the traditional club was still considered a favourite for the Super Bowl, but now Arizona is not even among the best four teams in the NFC. How can this rapid decline be explained?

Arizona Cardinals: Despite losing streak into the playoffs

Kyler Murray’s face spoke volumes as he faced members of the press after a bitter 16-22 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. After a perfect start to the season with seven wins from seven games, the defeat on Matchday 16 was the third in a row.

“We have to look at ourselves in the mirror and limit our mistakes because we definitely could have won this game,” Murray said. Countless penalties and two missed field goals by kicker Matt Prater ultimately sealed the fifth loss of the season.

“Good teams don’t make mistakes, but right now we’re just not doing what needs to be done.”

The only consolation for Arizona is that with the loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Murray and Co. at least have their ticket to the playoffs already in the bag (go here for the latest playoff picture).

Arizona Cardinals: And every year the groundhog greets us

2021 is increasingly turning into deja vu for the beleaguered franchise, which has just six playoff wins in the Super Bowl era (the last in January 2016) and has been without an NFL title since 1947.

Last year, Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury’s team also started the season successfully, but after a 6-3 start, the Cardinals lost five of their last seven games and still missed the playoffs they thought were safe.

During the last eight games, Arizona left the field as losers five times, including an unexpected and above all deserved defeat at the Detroit Lions, who had only one win on their side at that time.

It’s not just the unnecessary penalties and mental lapses that have sent the Cardinals into their current downward spiral.

Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins dogged by injury misfortune

Injuries have dogged Arizona all year and set the stage for the current losing streak at the halfway point of the season. In a three-game span, both Murray (ankle injury) and his favourite starting center DeAndre Hopkins (groin issues) were out.

Although the Cardinals ended the period with two wins and only one loss, the after-effects are still being felt today: Murray hasn’t been the same since his comeback on Game 13 against Chicago, and Hopkins suffered a serious knee injury a week later against Los Angeles.

The subsequent surgery will cost the star receiver, who has yet to record a single 100-yard game in 2021, the rest of the regular season.

Arizona Cardinals: Offense slumps

Other than that, the offense didn’t show much, with receivers A.J. Green, Christian Kirk and Rondale Moore and running back James Conner giving Arizona the NFL’s eighth-best unit (376.5 yards on average).

Only their effectiveness has left something to be desired in recent weeks: Murray has scored six touchdowns (four passing, two rushing) in the past four games; until his injury, he had 20 end-zone trips in eight games.

Also missing against Indianapolis was Conner, who has run for 14 touchdowns so far (two additional caught).

Achilles heel: The kicking game

Even the defense, known for many years as the Cardinals’ big Achilles’ heel, has been guilty of little this year: Here, too, Arizona ranks among the best teams in the league, with coordinator Vance Joseph’s unit allowing 324.3 yards per game (eighth best).

Although star newcomer J.J. Watt has been out since the 8th day of play with a serious shoulder injury, the defence otherwise allows very little. The 24 forced turnovers also speak for the defensive line around star safety Budda Baker.

Only the kicking game around the experienced Matt Prater is a cause for concern: With a success rate of 76.6%, the Cardinals currently rank 26th in the league. Especially in close and contested games like against the Colts or in the playoffs, this can be crucial.

Kingsbury and Murray: Game against Dallas should turn things around

Kliff Kingsbury, however, wants injuries to be the main cause of the crisis. “I think some guys want to help too much by being out at certain points,” surmised the 42-year-old head coach after the recent defeat.

“We have to take it one play at a time, get our assignments right, rally and then repeat the process. “

An important test comes Sunday’s game at the Dallas Cowboys. Their losing streak means the Cardinals now sit second in the NFC West and fifth overall in the playoff picture.

“At the end of the day, you’ve got to move on,” Kyler Murray says. “We want to go out there and show what we can do and feel good about it, too. This problem can be fixed. “