How Cardinals can salvage this season

The Arizona Cardinals lost at home 23-21 on a last-second field goal to an Oakland Raiders team that’s gotten rid of its best players in all three phases of the game, and critics want to fire firstyear coach Steve Wilks?

For what? This loss was on the players.

“It was definitely on the players,” safety Antoine Bethea said. “It’s not playing smart, not playing in our gaps. (Steve Wilks) understands being a head coach that you’re going to get a lot on your shoulders, but at the end of the day, as the players, we’ve got to start playing better as a whole.”

The solution is simple, and it’s within reach. The players don’t need new assignments or schemes. They don’t need added motivation or extra reps. They just need to play football and take pride executing their assignments.

“You’ve got to beat your man in front of you,” said Bethea, who finished with eight tackles and a sack. “That’s the personal pride. Beating your man, but at the same time, doing your job.” It goes for the offense, too.

Just ask Josh Rosen.

“Back in college, we learned the ‘MFer rule,’ ” he said. “If there are a lot of MFers over there, don’t throw that way.”

See? It’s simple.

Rosen put that lesson to use in the first quarter when he saw the Raiders overloaded on the right. The rookie quarterback audibled into a screen pass to the left, and it resulted in a 59yard touchdown pass to rookie receiver Christian Kirk.

“Josh saw that they were bringing pressure,” said Kirk, who had three catches for 77 yards and a touchdown. “That’s one of our checks, just a little quick screen, and the blocks were amazing by the front line. … All I had to do is just catch it and score.”

Part of what made the loss frustrating for fans was the opponent. The players feel some of that, too.

“This one is going to sting,” running back David Johnson said. “This is definitely going to sting. The Raiders, everybody knows they’re trading guys away. They are doing everything to try to rebuild. This is a tough one.”

The Raiders traded Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper. Thy cut Bruce Irvin and Marquette King. Oakland came in with one win, eight sacks and no hope.

The Cardinals were favored and had the lead late in the game after Rosen found Larry Fitzgerald in the end zone for a second time on Sunday.

Rosen finished with 136 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions. Fitzgerald had two catches for 23 yards and two touchdowns.

The stat lines show that the offense was inconsistent, but made enough plays to secure a victory.

That’s a huge part of the frustration for players, too.

“I don’t think it matters who the opponent is,” Rosen said. “It’s kind of just how we lost. We kind of had that game. … We found a way to lose. Antoine (Bethea) said it to a tee: We have to find a way to win.”

There’s plenty of blame to go around. But it feels reactionary and overly emotional to dump a coach so quickly — especially when the players are saying he’s putting them in position to win games.

Take the defensive mistakes that allowed the Raiders to gain 152 yards on the ground. Stopping the run comes down to “just staying in your gap,” Bethea said. “The same story it’s been all year.”

That’s not a coaching.

It’s “very, very frustrating,” Bethea said. “We talk about it. We harp on it. Guys understand that we get to a point where you’ve got to do it.”

Again, they just have to remember that football isn’t that complicated, it comes down to making plays and sticking with it.

The O-line, banged up as it is, showed resolve, even when the offense stalled in the second and third quarters.

“The mood kind of turned,” Rosen said. “But it never turned to anything more than determination.”

That paid off.

“The run game worked well,” said Johnson, who finished with 137 yards on 25 carries. It was by far his best day on the ground since 2016.

But there was more to be done. “As an offense,” Johnson said, “we have to figure out a way to finish.”

The players can show enough resolve to turn this, and it can happen this season. They know how to do it.

“You either quit or you don’t quit,” Rosen said. “I promise you we won’t.” It’s execution.