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Cardinals Fall in Overtime to Buccaneers 19-16

The Arizona Cardinals, despite leading by double digits in the fourth quarter, fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a Christmas Day matchup that stretched to overtime.

Donnie Druin

In this story:

GLENDALE -- The Arizona Cardinals have now lost five games in a row after their overtime defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They fumbled a ten point lead with under ten minutes to go in the game, allowing the Buccaneers to force overtime. 

It was the quarterback matchup the league dreamed of when piecing together the schedule for Christmas Day: Tom Brady vs. Trace McSorley. 

Heading into overtime, some would say we got some extra football. Others would argue nobody wanted it after the first 60 minutes. 

Field goals were exchanged in the first half of 35, 38, 53 and 56 yards to piece together a 6-6 score line. 

Not many highlights came in the first two quarters of play besides these two turnovers, the first of which was McSorley getting absolutely decked and sending the ball loose:

And the second coming via a Marco Wilson interception. 

Just to give you a snapshot on how bad the first half was:

Marquise Brown and DeAndre Hopkins had a combined zero receptions on eight targets.

Punter Andy Lee had a better passer rating than McSorley

Three players had five receptions. Two of them are running backs (James Conner+ Leonard Fournette)

The third quarter was mostly another yawn fest before Wilson snagged his second interception of the game on quite an athletic leap. 

With 30 seconds left in the quarter, McSorley connected on a 47-yard pass to Marquise Brown (his first catch of the day) to put the Cardinals in position to take their first lead. 

Yet the Cardinals weren't able to capitalize, again relying on Prater (this time from 39 yards) to push them ahead 9-6.

Finally, with 10:47 left, James Conner would cross the goal line on a 22-yard run to score the game's first touchdown. Arizona took a 16-6 lead after Prater's extra point went through. 

Yet in typical Brady fashion, he was able to march the Buccaneers right down the field and respond with a touchdown of his own, finding Rachaad White on a three-yard score to bring Tampa Bay back to a three-point deficit, 16-13.

The Buccaneers got even more momentum after a Keaontay Ingram fumble led to a game-tying field goal with just over two minutes left to play.

And, of course, this game went to overtime. 

Succop nailed a 40-yard field goal with 3:41 left to seal the deal.

Arizona now drops to 4-11 on the year. The Cardinals travel to Atlanta to battle the Falcons next week. 

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Donnie Druin
DONNIE DRUIN

Donnie Druin is the Publisher for All Cardinals and Inside The Suns. Donnie moved to Arizona in 2012 and has been with Fan Nation since 2018. In college he won "Best Sports Column" in the state of Arizona for his section and has previously provided coverage for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona State Sun Devils. Follow Donnie on Twitter @DonnieDruin for more news, updates, analysis and more!

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