3 Takeaways from Cardinals' Week 8 Loss

The Arizona Cardinals will likely finish the 2021 season with a strong record. It just won't be a perfect one.

After opening the year with seven consecutive wins, the Cardinals took their first loss of the season on Thursday night, falling to the Green Bay Packers 24-21 at State Farm Stadium. Arizona, which had been the only unbeaten team in the NFL, lost to a Green Bay team that has won seven straight games since opening with a loss.

The Cardinals had a chance to win the game, as they were driving down the field late and trailed by only three points when they faced a 2nd-and-goal at the Packers' five-yard line with 15 seconds remaining. However, miscommunication between quarterback Kyler Murray and wide receiver A.J. Green led to Murray getting intercepted by cornerback Rasul Douglas, sealing the game for Green Bay.

Here are three takeaways from Arizona's Week 8 loss.

Turnovers Proved Costly for Murray, Offense

Darryl Webb/Associated Press

Murray's interception on the Cardinals' final offensive play was his first in the red zone this season. However, it wasn't a bad throw. It just seemed that Green didn't know it was coming. But it was also far from the only mistake that Arizona made during this game.

The Packers had a 10-7 lead at halftime after Mason Crosby kicked a 21-yard field goal with six minutes, 24 seconds to go in the second quarter. Green Bay was only that close to the end zone because Arizona's Rondale Moore muffed a punt that was recovered by the Packers at the Cardinals' three-yard line.

Arizona then gave Green Bay great field position early in the second half as Murray was intercepted on the Cardinals' opening drive of the third quarter. The Packers took over in the red zone, then they grabbed a 17-7 lead five plays later when Aaron Rodgers threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Randall Cobb.

Without those earlier mistakes, Arizona may not have been in a position in which it needed a final drive to try to either tie or win the game. For the most part, these types of errors haven't occurred for the Cardinals this season. And if they hope to get back on track, they'll need to make sure this isn't a recurring theme.

"We knew [adversity] would come at some point," Murray said, per Darren Urban of the team's official website. "We fought the whole game. We just came up short. If we make the last play, we're not talking about this."

Defense Couldn't Find Ways to Stop the Run

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It wasn't a surprise that the Packers leaned on their running game on Thursday night. Their offense was missing top receivers Davante Adams and Allen Lazard, both of whom were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, and tight end Robert Tonyan exited in the third quarter with a knee injury.

Still, Arizona had trouble stopping Green Bay's ground attack. Aaron Jones had 59 rushing yards and a touchdown (while also notching seven catches for 51 yards) and AJ Dillon had 78 yards on the ground. The Packers had 151 rushing yards and picked up some key conversions when they needed to, going 6-for-14 on third downs and 2-for-4 on fourth downs.

"I think when they started having success running the ball, it was a go-to for them," Cardinals linebacker Jordan Hicks said, per Kevin Parrish Jr. of the team's official website. "And it wasn't anything exotic, we just didn't tackle as well as we wanted to."

Even though Green Bay was shorthanded, its offense can always be tough to stop when Rodgers is under center. This may just be a case of Arizona going up against a solid unit. But the Cardinals are also allowing 120.1 rushing yards per game, so they will likely need to do better in this area moving forward.

Extra Time off Needed to Get Healthy

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The Cardinals have had a tough week on the injury front, with wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins not practicing because of a hamstring ailment and defensive end J.J. Watt needing shoulder surgery. And the tough luck continued Thursday.

Hopkins spent much of the night on Arizona's sideline after aggravating his hamstring. He had two catches for 66 yards, including a 55-yard reception in the first quarter that would have been a touchdown if not for a facemask penalty called on Hopkins. Still, Hopkins played only 14 snaps, and that was even more than the Cardinals had planned on.

"We wanted him to stay off the field, but he'd just run on," Arizona head coach Kliff Kingsbury said, per NFL.com's Grant Gordon. "He wants to play. He's super competitive. He made some plays there. We just want to be smart, but he was definitely hurting."

The Cardinals lost linebacker Zaven Collins (shoulder) and safety James Wiggins (knee), while running back Chase Edmonds missed some time with a shoulder injury, although he later returned. There was also some concern when Murray limped off the field following his second interception, but he later said he was good.

Watt may not be returning, but Arizona needs its key players to get healthy if it hopes to remain one of the top teams in the NFC. Its next game isn't until Nov. 7 on the road against the San Francisco 49ers, so the extra time could be beneficial as the Cardinals look to get back closer to full strength.