The Patriots are pretty shorthanded for this one.
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Jimmy Garoppolo is getting his first career start tomorrow night against a Cardinals defense that rivals the likes of the Panthers, Broncos and Seahawks when healthy.
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Jimmy Garoppolo, starting in place of suspended Tom Brady, threw for 264 yards and a touchdown, leading the severely depleted New England Patriots to a 23-21 victory over the favored Arizona Cardinals on Sunday night. They now have three consecutive home games – winnable matchups against Miami, Houston and Buffalo – before Brady returns.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals are kicking themselves.
Kicker Wil Lutz missed a 61-yard field goal attempt in the dying seconds as the New Orleans Saints were beaten 35-34 by the Oakland Raiders. That let the air out of the stadium.
Both Canaday and Catanzaro said they received nothing but support from their teammates following the miss. “That falls on my shoulders”.
Gronkowski said during the week that he wanted to play but would leave it up to the coaches and doctors.
GAMES PEOPLE PLAY: Those who had Chargers receiver Keenan Allen on their fantasy roster might want to look at the waiver wire. And LeGarrette Blount’s third-quarter fumble the Cardinals turned into a 1-yard David Johnson touchdown run. That was the 100 touchdown catch of Fitzgerald’s illustrious career.
When the Patriots settled for a field goal with 12:35 to play, Arizona drove 79 yards in under 3 minutes to set up a 1-yard touchdown catch by Fitzgerald, who became the 10th player in National Football League history with 100 touchdown catches. With 11 minutes, 25 seconds to play, the Chargers had the ball at the Chiefs 36-yard line.
Palmer finished 24-of-37 for 271 yards, and gave them the lead in the fourth quarter, so this may be a bit harsh of a critique against a quality defense. “We were further behind the 8-ball than we expected to be”.
That Garoppolo was able to orchestrate a road win over the Cardinals was impressive enough.
ABOUT THE PATRIOTS (2015: 12-4, first in AFC East): Garappolo has the league’s biggest matchup nightmare at his disposal in the person of Rob Gronkowski, who had 72 catches for 1,176 yards and 11 touchdowns last season to become the only tight end in league history to post double-digit TDs five teams.
Belichick and this team may not get blown out but they will be a likely loser in ‘Zona, one thing that will certainly be worth watching for is how well this team rallies around Garoppolo and how well he can get himself out of trouble spots on Sunday night.
Garoppolo has apparently won the respect of Cardinals’ coach Bruce Arians. “We’re going to need to play better next week and succeeding weeks”.
LOW SNAP, BIG MISS: The snap on what would have been the game-winning field goal for Arizona was low, the first big moment for the Cardinals’ rookie long snapper.
“I wish I could take it back, but I can’t”, Canaday said. “But I’m looking forward to this one”. However, to avoid Garoppolo making mistakes, the defense needs to be the star of the show. It’s something that Brady commonly does before games, cracking an ammonia capsule, apparently to sharpen his senses. I mean obviously if it’s no good we are kneeling anyways, so it didn’t really make a difference. The reason you do it is because you can’t get the best defensive call for a personnel group because you’re in that same personnel group all the time.
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Without question, the Patriots snapped to attention.
