https://www.pff.com/news/pro-nfl-week-1-pff-refocused-arizona-cardinals-27-detroit-lions-27
NFL Week 1 PFF ReFocused: Arizona Cardinals 27 - Detroit Lions 27.
Audibles at the Line: Week 1
Detroit Lions 27 at Arizona Cardinals 27 (OT).
Aaron Schatz: The Cardinals kicked a field goal to go down 17-6, with fourth-and-4 at the Detroit 24 with 4:43 left in the third quarter. If you're Arizona, you've got to use some David theory and be extra aggressive in situations like that. Detroit came back on the very next drive and went 82 yards down the field to make it 24-6 on a T.J. Hockenson touchdown catch.
Tom Gower: Have we already noted that the Cardinals kicked the field goal and fourth-and-goal from the 2 down 17-0 in the first half? Because if we're noting this decision, we should note that one too if we haven't.
Aaron Schatz: Oh, but wait, as long as we're noting Arizona decisions, how about the fact that they then kicked yet another field goal to go down 24-9 with 11:00 to go. Yes, it was fourth-and-9 from the Detroit 16 and that's a tough situation to convert in, but guys, at some point you need some touchdowns to catch up to Detroit.
Tom Gower: Since we're piling on the Cardinals, I'll note that Kliff Kingsbury kicks the extra point down 24-15 with 5:57 to play, rather than learning whether he needed one score or two to potentially get a result.
Aaron Schatz: Arizona finally gets a touchdown as David Johnson burns linebacker Jalen Reeves Maybin up the seam. Down nine, the Cards kick the XP first to "stay within one score."
Bryan Knowles: Hey, the Cardinals found the end zone! Finally! I mean, too little too late from the offense that was supposed to revolutionize the NFL, but hey!
Aaron Schatz: Oh my god the Lions are going to blow this. They had the perfect play called on third-and-5, with J.D. McKissic crossing left to right in the backfield and he was all alone. Easy swing pass and first down. Except the Lions has called a timeout right before the play. So they take that off the board and on the replacement third-and-5, the Lions for some reason run what looked like four verts (?!?!) and threw deep. And Stafford totally underthrew his guy, so out comes the punter. And Sam Harris' punt is partially blocked! So now the Cardinals have the ball at their own 40 with 2:31 left.
Bryan Knowles: The announcers for this one said "boy, we were wrong to doubt the Cardinals when they kicked that third field goal, because look at them now."
No! No, you weren't! If they had scored a touchdown instead of a field goal there, that Larry Fitzgerald touchdown would have been for the win! Instead, the two-point conversion just gives us a tie game.
Aaron Schatz: Cardinals march down the field in overtime, mostly on a great sliding catch by Fitzgerald on the left sideline, but they stall out inside the 20. Field goal. Then the Lions move down the field with a couple of nice play-action passes to Marvin Jones. They stall out inside the 20 too. Field goal. Now 27-27 with 3:45 left.
Bryan Knowles: I don't know why Kingsbury punted with a minute left to try to preserve a tie. I don't know why Danny Amendola didn't just step out of bounds. I don't know how Tramaine Brock didn't hang on to a game-winning pick-six (or at least a chance at a field goal).
This game was fit to be tied.
Aaron Schatz: I do understand Kingsbury punting to preserve the tie. A tie is better than a loss. He's a new coach. He's not going to hand the other team the ball close to field goal range with a chance to win the game, which is what they do if they don't convert the fourth-and-7.
Bryan Knowles: Counterpoint: the Cardinals are not going to be a good football team this year. They're not legit playoff contenders or anything. This isn't like last year, when the Colts damaged their playoff odds by not playing for a tie. If I'm Kingsbury, I'm giving Murray a shot there.
Aaron Schatz: It's early in the season. Every team has a right to think its a playoff contender. You should know when to be aggressive because you're the underdog but it's OK to not think you're a loser as well.
EdjSports ran their numbers on the Cardinals' decision to punt in overtime. Treating a tie as half a win, the simulator was in favor of going for it, but only by 0.4%. In other words, it was pretty much an either/or decision for Kingsbury.
Football Outsiders
