Despite Fitzgerald’s terrific and historic grab, Garoppolo led New England back down the field, capping off a 61-yard, six-minute drive with a field goal to give the Patriots a 23-21 lead with 3:44 to play.
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“We should have won the game”, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said.
Including Sunday night’s game against the Cardinals, the 24-year-old Garoppolo has just played in 12 games in his National Football League career, all for the Patriots and as a backup to superstar Brady.
All eyes were on Garoppolo, who had the added pressure of dealing with a hostile University of Phoenix Stadium crowd and the scrutiny of a nationally televised game. Clearly, the Eastern Illinois product had done his due diligence preparing for this showdown.
Then it happened. Garoppolo (24-of-33, 264 yards, TD, no INTs, 106.1) was the game’s more efficient passer in every which way.
Hogan had three catches, including a 37-yard touchdown reception. The underneath routes were there for most of the night, and Edelman was the main beneficiary.
Larry Fitzgerald: Story of his career: On a night where Larry Fitzgerald was a beast among boys, caught his 100th career touchdown and carried his team’s offense down the stretch to finish with 81 yards and two touchdowns, his team still lost. This was a nothing play that became a 45-yarder.
There was a report that Fitzgerald has told people close to him that this would be his a year ago as a player. “I am just going to have to move forward and focus on next week and improving”.
These sort of plays are quickly becoming commonplace for the young running back. If Garoppolo keeps this up, a team will want to show they are committed to him for the long haul, even if they have an exit strategy.
The Cardinals scored 14 points on Patriots turnovers, the first of which being a fumble by Garoppolo on a strip sack in the second quarter.
Arizona, on the other hand, punted on four of its five first-half possessions and never got into an early rhythm.
“The line did a great job, first of all, giving me that time”. On 3rd-and-15 from the New England 20, Garoppolo hit Danny Amendola on a 32-yard completion to the Arizona 48. It gave the Cardinals a 21-20 lead, their first of the game, that was erased on the next drive by Gostkowski’s victor.
Seahawks 12, Dolphins 10: In Seattle, hobbled by an ankle injury, Russell Wilson pulled off another fourth-quarter comeback, throwing a 2-yard touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin with 31 seconds left. He’ll get there. The Cardinals created a little bit of a pass rush.
Packers 27, Jaguars 23: Aaron Rodgers threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score in Green Bay’s win. The next three games for New England are at home against Miami, Houston and Buffalo.
Despite the Patriots being mostly ineffective in running the ball, Garoppolo also kept them on schedule and kept converting third downs.
“I’ve got to make that kick, just a good old-fashioned miss”, he said.
“I am really proud of our team tonight”, he said, per the Associated Press (via Patriots.com). If the Patriots continue to play like they did this Sunday, they should walk into that game with a lot of confidence.
The 24-year-old Garoppolo said it was his teammates’ belief in his abilities that allowed him to put in a fine effort.
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“He just makes it so much easier on the quarterback, finding the soft spot in the zones and everything”, Garoppolo said. The final field goal attempt was kicked with 41 seconds left, but better clock management would have given Garoppolo about a minute if the kick had been good.
