Why They Win: How Patriots Clip Cardinals, Keep Playoff Hopes Alive

The New England Patriots' postseason push is once again primed for prime time in the desert. How can they prevent the playoffs from becoming a mirage?

Are you ready for some football? The New England Patriots are trying to prove they're ready for some playoffs. 

Freshly removed from an 11-day layover, the Patriots will look to keep pace in the packed AFC playoff picture, closing out Week 14 action with a duel in the desert against the Arizona Cardinals. Even if the Pats get the help they need on Sunday, the dwindling schedule and their past body of work place them in de facto win-or-go-home situations over the final five. That begins with an interconference showdown where the reeling Cardinals face pre-Christmas elimination and potentially larger changes on the road ahead. 

New England, partaking in its third consecutive non-Sunday game, is looking to avoid a matching losing streak, having fallen to the Buffalo Bills by a 24-10 final in last week's Thursday night staging. On the other hand, Arizona has dropped four of its past five, the latest being a 25-24 heartbreaker against the Los Angeles Chargers. This will wrap a three-game homestand for the Cardinals, who welcome New England to Glendale for the first time since the 2016 season opener. 

What: New England Patriots (6-6) at Arizona Cardinals (4-8)
Where: State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ
When: 8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN App
Who's Won: New England leads series 8-7 (last: 20-17 NE, 11/2020)
Who's Favored: NE -1.5

How do the Patriots prevail?

What's the Point?

As amateur and professional observers alike refuse to let the idea of a Tom Brady/Bill Belichick reunion die, these final hours might be a make-or-break situation for pretty much anyone involved in the New England offense who's not a rookie or named Rhamondre Stevenson. At the top of that list is Mac Jones, whose first game post-Brady rumor did not go well.

If there's a chance to prove his minuteman mettle over the last five games, it'll come against the woebegone Cardinals. It's bad enough that Arizona's potential-packed offense struggles to generate any form of consistency, but the Cardinals give up points in bunches, even by the modern, offense-worshipping NFL's standards. Giving up an average of nearly 27 a game as is (besting only Detroit), the Cardinals have allowed at least 30 points on five occasions this season, going 1-4 on such occasions.

That's a prime opportunity for the Patriots, who have proven capable of scoring if the occasion calls for it. Their offensive personnel might have to do so on Monday to not only save their current playoff case but their respective Foxboro futures as well. Brady, of course, is far from the only candidate suggested for a reunion, after all ...

Kyler Hurtin'

Enough has been written ... ok, maybe not on this site ... about Matthew Judon's rise to power, but his biggest problem with an MVP case (other than the fact that there's a clear, if not unspoken, bias toward offensive stars) is the fact he's starting to get help in the New England pass rush. Deatrich Wise has been a brilliant help on the edge while Josh Uche is starting to make a name for himself as well.

That doesn't bode for an Arizona offense that tends to fall when it can't protect Kyler Murray: between his ongoing struggles in the franchise spot and his understudies' medically-induced appearances, Arizona throwers have been forced into 46 hurried passes, second only to the 47 in Kansas City, where Patrick Mahomes is capable of masking or outright erasing such lapses. Furthermore, Arizona has lost 248 yards on sacks this season, the league's fifth-worst rate. Arizona will also be missing starting left guard Rashaad Coward (chest).

That means there's a prime opportunity for New England's healthy pass rush to enjoy a hearty holiday feast. It's imperative that they take advantage.

Vance Refrigeration

There's perhaps no more time-honored holiday tradition in New England than someone opening their mouth to trash the Patriots and having their words served back to them on the field. Granted, Brady was often the chef behind these verbal culinary delights but speaking out against any Belichick-led group still carries a sense of danger.

Cardinals defensive coordinator Vance Joseph poked the Pats with a backhanded compliment in the lead-up to Monday. While offering praise for the Patriots' Stevenson-led run game, he was subtly critical of the team's apparent desire to feature short passes.

 It's a very conservative pass game, lot of screens, all kinds of screens. It's how a defensive guy would call offensive plays. "Let's not turn the ball over, let's get four yards a play, and let's try to burn clock," Joseph said of a unit led by the traditionally defensive-minded Matt Patricia, the primary playcaller and de facto offensive coordinator.  "That's what they're doing and that's what he's going to do on Monday night. He's going to be patient. Maybe take a shot from time to time. But for the most part, it's run game, it's a quick game, and it's screens."

Like Michael Jordan before them, do not, under any circumstance, underestimate the Patriots' ability to "take that personally." 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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