Another week, another creative way to lose. As a long-time Phoenix resident, I always hope that the Cardinals can find a way to win, and it’s alwaysa good feeling when they do manage a win. However, most of the time, wins are rare. It’s not that the Cardinals consistantly get blown out. To the contrary, they’re usually in a game to the end with a good chance to win. What makes the Cardinals the Cardinals is the creative ways they find to lose games.

When the Cardinals played 49ers in the first game of the season, they held a lead late in the game. The defense had held firm for the entire game until the last 3 minutes. Even after this defensive collapse, they still had a chance to win the game. A 49ers receiver fumbled the ball into the endzone and right to the feet of a Cardinals defender. Instead of falling on the ball and winning the game, the defender tried to pick up the ball, missed it, and allowed the 49ers to recover, score a touchdown, and win the game.

The third game against the Ravens started out as a blowout, but the 2nd half heroics of Kurt Warner led the Cardinals back into the game and only trailing by three. Warner led the team back into the redzone, threw a perfect pass into the endzone which was dropped. They settled for a field goal and a tied game. An unnecessary roughness penalty later, and the Ravens get close enough for a game-winning field goal.

Now, I never expected the Cardinals to beat the Ravens, few did. But it is just like the Cardinals to find a way to almost win, then find another way to blow it.

Good thing I’ve been a Cowboys fan for longer than the Cards have been in Arizona. They’re 3-0.