Garoppolo plays hardball
Quarterback aces his first test as fill-in for the suspended Brady, and Patriots post an eye-opening win.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — No Tom Brady. No Rob Gronkowski. No room for error against one of the NFL’s best teams in one of the least hospitable stadiums.
No problem. Not for New England’s Jimmy Garoppolo.
The third-year quarterback, starting in place of Brady and playing without his full complement of offensive weapons, led the Patriots to a 23-21 upset of the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday
night before a packed house at University of Phoenix Stadium.
Showing uncommon poise for a player with relatively little experience, and playing against a stif ling defense, Garoppolo threw for 264 yards and a touchdown — even completing a batted pass to himself — as the Patriots carved out some breathing room. They now have three consecutive home games — winnable matchups against Miami, Houston and Buffalo — before Brady returns from his four-game Deflategate suspension.
“He did his job,” receiver Julian Edelman said of Garoppolo. “He ... took command of the huddle and made plays when he had to.”
Meanwhile, the Cardinals are kicking themselves. Trailing for most of the game, they saw a good chance to win flutter away with 41 seconds to play, when a 47-yard field-goal attempt by Chandler Catanzaro sailed wide left, in part the result of a low snap. That let the air out of the stadium.
“It’s on me,” Catanzaro said. “That falls on my shoulders.”
The defeat spoiled an impressive game by Arizona receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who had a game-high 10 catches for 81 yards, including two short touchdowns, one of which should find a spot in his career highlight tape.
That was a go-ahead score with 9:46 remaining, when Arizona claimed its first lead of the game, 21-20. It was a one-yard touchdown, which might sound modest but had Fitzgerald making a contorted, over-the-shoulder catch with a defender glued to him. That was the 100th touchdown catch of Fitzgerald’s brilliant career.
New England got the ball back, and when Garoppolo was sacked on the first play, and the home crowd’s volume climbed ever higher, the Cardinals seemed to have the game well in hand.
But Garoppolo stayed composed and led his team on a 13-play, 62-yard march that consumed six minutes of clock and ended with a clinching 32-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski.
Working with no timeouts, and pushed back by a couple of holding calls, Arizona needed the pinpoint passing of quarterback Carson Palmer to get into position to reclaim the lead, but then came the ill-fated kick.
“When you have to win with a late field goal, you’re obviously behind the 8-ball,” Palmer said. “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. But he did so without the services of Gronkowski (hamstring), and without starting left tackle Nate Solder (hamstring) and right guard Jonathan Cooper (foot).
“He’s got quiet confidence, and everybody on this team has confidence in him,” defensive end Chris Long said of Garoppolo.
Gostkowski made field goals of 47, 53 and 32 yards. “I don’t usually look forward to a five-hour flight,” he said. “But I’m looking forward to this one.”
For the Patriots, the game took place on unforgettable ground. It was here that they lost the 2008 Super Bowl to the New York Giants, watching their bid for a perfect 19-0 season go poof. Then 19 months ago, they beat Seattle in the Super Bowl here, with Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll making the ill-fated decision to pass at the goal line at the end.
Garoppolo conceded he was nervous Sunday until he was hit for the first time. Before the game, he was spotted on camera waving smelling salts under his nose and recoiling. It’s something that Brady commonly does before games. It “just gets you going,” Garoppolo said.
Without question, the Patriots snapped to attention. So did the rest of the league.