As hard as it may be to believe, the Cardinals again one-upped themselves on the all-time "worst ways to lose a game" list.
This time they literally had the game won with a made field goal in overtime before it was called back on a delay of game penalty. It marked the second critical time the Cardinals mismanaged the clock, the first coming at the end of regulation when they blew a timeout before an official review that would have stopped play anyway.
After the 5-yard penalty, head coach Ken Whisenhunt opted to kick it again, even though it was only second down and the Cardinals were moving the ball well on the ground and could have conceivably ended the game in the end zone rather than through the uprights.
Then Neil Rackers missed a kick no professional kicker should ever miss, and the Cardinals later went on to lose on a poorly designed pass attempt in their own end zone.
Hollywood could not script this stuff any better folks, even if it did have its writers on the job.
I know I'm playing Monday morning quarterback here, but the late game decisions coupled with a vintage Cardinals crunch time choke once again beg the question: will this organization's culture of losing ever be reversed?
You can bring in new faces in management and on the field, you can change the uniforms and you can change the stadium. But to wash the stench of suck off this team it's going to take a lot more polish and perhaps the good graces of the football gods. Don't hold your breath.
