Fourth-and-1 stop emblematic of Cardinals' woes in critical situations

The Arizona Cardinals were facing fourth-and-1 behind by seven points at their own 39-yard line with 10:46 to play in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 20-17 loss to the Tamps Bay Buccaneers. They actually needed only a half-yard for the first down.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon said the decision to go for it was simply to gain a yard and retain possession of the ball.

The call was a pitch to the left to running back Bam Knight, but the run was stopped by linebacker Anthony Nelson and defensive lineman Logan Hall coming from the back side.

When asked about the play after the game, Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said, "The view I had was kind of clouded because there were a lot of bodies around there. I know they got penetration in that way. The formation told us the ball was going outside. They did a heck of a job with the film study. 'Nelly' made a heck of a play."

Nelson was head up with tight end Trey McBride, who didn’t stick with Nelson on his block. Hall was being blocked by left guard Evan Brown and was able to disengage from Brown and helped from behind Knight.

However, if Nelson hadn’t been there so quickly, the contact from Hall likely wouldn’t have prevented Knight from gaining enough for the first down.

Prior to the snap, linebacker SirVocea Dennis moved to his right and knifed through the line, but left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. kept him away, although Knight cut back inside.

Even with formation recognition, which happens frequently in the NFL, the play result comes down to execution. Even if Knight had stayed outside, it’s possible Nelson would have reached him short of the line to gain.

The stop on downs handed the ball to the Bucs in excellent field position and even though the defense stepped up for a stop without allowing any yards, kicker Chase McLaughlin gave the Bucs a 20-10 lead with a 57-yard field goal.

Monday on Arizona Sports 98.7, Gannon was told of Bowles’ comment and was asked if there was concern the Bucs knew what the play was. He said, “No. There’s multiple plays off that formation in which we’ve run and we’ve done multiple things from that personnel group and that formation.

“At the end of the day, to me, we got a hat on a hat, and they did a good job. We didn’t get the yard. They didn’t have anybody unblocked at the point of attack. For a yard, if you don’t have anybody unblocked at the point of attack and you have everybody blocked at the point of attack, then you should be able to get a yard there.”

Unfortunately, McBride had Nelson blocked, but didn’t finish.

On the Fox broadcast, analyst Daryl Johnson was all over the play as a replay was shown from behind the Bucs defense.

“Trey McBride, he’s got him (Nelson),” Johnston said. “That’s the responsibility right there. And right there, he’s just kind of ... I don’t know what he’s doing. He’s got inside leverage, and he turns him loose. He doesn’t strain. In that situation, you gotta strain to get to that outside shoulder and not let Anthony Nelson come up and make that tackle.

“Trey McBride is a very good run blocker. We’ve shown you all his numbers, and it’s an area that he’s getting better at. And he’s very effective. But I did not expect to see a play like that from Trey in that situation.”

Meeting with the media Monday, McBride accepted accountability without being asked specifically about the play. He was asked about being a “self-evaluation guy when it comes to catching and blocking,” and he responded by saying, “I feel like I could be better in the run game. That fourth-and-1, I feel like that’s a big play that’s really eating at me. I could’ve strained a little bit harder. I could’ve been better on that play. That’s really tearing me up, but I just try to do my job the best of my ability and hopefully the ball keeps finding me.”

It's yet another example of how the details and execution is what usually make the difference more than play-calling, especially in close games, which the Cardinals have been experts at losing.

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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Fourth-and-1 stop emblematic of Cardinals' woes in critical situations