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AP: 4c022211-0571-4d7e-bbb2-5f938db690a6
New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez (6) is sacked by Arizona Cardinals cornerback William Gay (22) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 2, 2012, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Sure, you could read the box score and know who won, but we all know that won't tell you everything that happened in a football game. So, we will give you Bird Bits providing you with the analysis, quotes and notes from the Cardinals' 7-6 loss to the New York Jets.

The Story:

Looking for their first win since Week 4, the Cardinals turned to rookie quarterback Ryan Lindley for the second straight game against the New York Jets. While Lindley didn't have a four-turnover performance like he did in the team's loss to the Rams, the sixth-round draft pick was just as ineffective Sunday, if not more.

Lindley finished 10-of-31 for 72 yards, as Arizona wasted another terrific effort from its defense in a 7-6 road loss to the Jets.

The Good:

Kerry Rhodes returned to the Meadowlands to face his former team and did about as much as an opposing player could do to quiet a hostile New York crowd.

Rhodes picked off two Mark Sanchez passes in the first quarter, the first of which came on the first play from scrimmage. In the fourth quarter, Rhodes also forced a fumble on a pass play to running back Kahlil Bell. The fumble turned into the Cardinals' lone three points in the second half.

The Bad:

The Cardinals forced three turnovers and were rewarded with two missed field goals by Nick Folk in the first half, but offensively couldn't make the most of their opportunities. The team's only points in the first 30 minutes of play came on a Jay Feely field goal to end the half.

If not for a 40-yard run by safety Rashad Johnson -- the team's largest play of the day from scrimmage -- on a fake punt, Feely's kick would never have even happened.

When Lindley missed Sunday, he missed badly. After Rhodes' forced fumble in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals had the ball inside the Jets' 40-yard line. Unfortunately for Ken Whisenhunt and Co., Lindley misfired badly on two straight passes to Larry Fitzgerald (one catch for 23 yards) a la John Skelton in the team's loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Arizona settled for three points and never challenged the rest of the afternoon.

Noted:

• The Cardinals defense has now forced 10 turnovers in their last two road contests.

• If there was one statistic that could properly sum up Sunday's pathetic performance on offense it would be third-down percentage. Arizona was 0-for-15 on the afternoon.

• Greg McElroy, a former seventh-round draft pick out of Alabama, came in during the third quarter to replace Mark Sanchez. McElroy's first career touchdown pass to Jeff Cumberland proved to be the difference.

• The Cardinals have now been held out of the end zone in three of their eight losses this season.

• Arizona has suffered three eight-game losing streaks since moving to the Valley. The last of which occurred in 2006.

Coming Up Next:

The Cardinals will stay out on the road next Sunday with a divisional game against Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks at 2:25 p.m. One of Arizona's four wins came against Seattle back in Week 1.

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  • Abuse
    DanTheTimid wrote...
    An afront to offense
    Its certainly possible that there have been worst offensive performances in the history of the nfl, but my gosh, was that painful to watch. Keep in mind this was the same jets defense that gave up 49 points to the pats just last week. And it wasn't like our WRs weren't getting open, lindley was just missing wide open WRs by 5 feet all day long. Throw in the usual inept run game (PLEASE give hyphen more carries, I'm begging you) and I actually at one point found myself laughing at the stupidity of what I was seeing.
  • Abuse
    Rainex80 wrote...
    given up?
    Has Ken given up!?!?!?!? or is he just stubborn? Cearly Lindley was not your best option to win from the get go. Missed by far worse than Skelton ever did. Why was he kept in the game? How do you win the turnover battle again, but somehow lose AGAIN! Someone is fired this week. It doesnt get much worse than what was put on the field offensively this week.
  • Abuse
    MrMwman wrote...
    Whiz
    Nice for Whiz to leave Lindley in after a worse performance in the first half than Skelton had a couple weeks back. Putting his team in the best chance to win.... NOT! Your rhetoric is old Wiz, you and Grimm need to go as you are now hamstringing the team rather than admit a mistake.
  • Abuse
    DanTheTimid wrote...
    I mean...
    I understand that Kolb's still injured and Skelton wasn't exactly lighting the place up before he was benched, but at least we were managing the occasional first down under John. It got to the point where I felt like we were better off just playing Patric Peterson out of the wild cat on every play then hiking the ball to Lindley so he could either throw the ball into the grass in the middle of he field or hand it off to Wells so he could run the ball for between -4 to 2 yards up the gut.
  • Abuse
    MrMwman wrote...
    Dan the timid
    I had the same reaction today and found myself actually laughing out loud too. DM
  • Abuse
    Bigtymefan wrote...
    0-15 3rd downs......
    Even bad offensive teams get 'lucky' on 3rd down conversions...which tells me how bad things have gotten. Another wasted performance for the Defense as well. This QB Lindley looks so rattled & confused out there it's not even funny...and it's not gonna get any easier in Seattle next week.
  • Abuse
    gorgolo1 wrote...
    whiz needs to go now (ASAP)
    First off, I'm a long-time Cards fan and have to say that this was the absolute worst game I have ever had to endure. The beat goes on as the Cards continue to make a mockery of the invention of the forward pass. I honestly felt like punching the screen every time they showed whiz, grimm or miller on the TV. That's it folks, we are officially a laughing stock again!
  • Abuse
    FitzIsMyHero wrote...
    Hopefully
    The Bidwills replace Graves with the right GM. At this point, I dont think they can go wrong with promoting Horton to HC, but, if they dont, I hope they pick the right DC to replace Horton (if they dont pay him more to stay in his DC position or if they dont promote him to HC), and I hope that they pick the right OC. Again, I dont think Horton will do bad. I think he has a good idea of how to turn this offense around. And most of the time, it takes the set of eyes that are from the outside looking in....
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