Jan 3, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Ryan Lindley (14) recovers his fumble during the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers in the 2014 NFC Wild Card playoff football game at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports ORG XMIT: USATSI-218286 ORIG FILE ID: 20150102_pjc_bb4_108.JPG
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(Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports)
The Arizona Cardinals certainly came into their NFC Wild Card game against the Carolina Panthers with a disadvantage, having to start third-string quarterback Ryan Lindley and an assortment of inexperienced running backs against a very talented Carolina defense.
Still, with wideout Larry Fitzgerald and enough other offensive parts that had helped get the team to an 11-5 regular season record, it seemed feasible enough that Arizona’s talented defense would be able to make enough stops to keep them in the game if the offense could manage to produce anything positive.
That would not be the case.
The Cardinals offense put on a historically inept performance in their 27-16 loss. How historical? Check out these putrid stats.
Arizona’s 78 yards of total offense was the lowest single-game performance in NFL playoff history, nine yards fewer than the previous record set by the 1958 Cleveland Browns.
(Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports)
The Cardinals’ output was 30 yards less than the worst-single game performance by any NFL team in the 2014 regular season.
Check out this listing of each of Arizona’s second-half drives.
The Panthers had 110 more yards on the ground than the Cardinals did in total offense.
(Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports)
If this does prove to be the final game in a Cardinals jersey for Fitzgerald, it was a brutal way to go out.