Arizona Cardinals: Fast start fades into another home loss

The Arizona Cardinals jumped out to a 14-0 lead before losing, 16-14, to the Chicago Bears as the Josh Rosen era began in Week 3.

For awhile on Sunday in Week 3, it looked like the Arizona Cardinals offense finally got on track. Sam Bradford threw two early touchdowns in the first quarter to give the Red Birds an early lead. However, Bradford’s fast start faded into the third-straight loss for the Cardinals, falling 16-14 to the Chicago Bears.

Bradford led Arizona to a touchdown on their opening drive. He hit Christian Kirk for a 30-yard pass to get the offense in position to score. Two plays later, Bradford hit Ricky Seals-Jones for a 35-yard touchdown pass.

After forcing a Chicago turnover, Bradford threw to David Johnson for a 21-yard touchdown. Arizona led 14-0 with just 1:40 left in the first quarter. Maybe the Cardinals were finally ready to break out of their funk — or maybe not.

Bradford was fast out of the gate on Sunday. In the first quarter, he completed 4-of-5 passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns. Unfortunately for him, there were still three quarters still to play. Bradford’s fade started in the second quarter. He completed three passes out of five for three yards. Arizona was still ahead 14-3 at halftime.

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The third quarter became Bradford’s downfall. Bradford had turnovers on three consecutive drives. Chicago then scored 10 unanswered points to make the score 14-13. After Bradford’s fumble, Chicago drove 59 yards to kick the winning field goal. Steve Wilks decided that he had seen enough of Bradford.

Rookie first-round pick Josh Rosen took the field on Arizona’s final two possessions. Rosen completed four of seven passes for 36 yards and one interception. He ran for 12 yards on his only carry. His quarterback rating was 31.5.

Arizona’s defense played well enough to win the game. The third quarter offensive meltdown is to be blamed for the loss. The Rosen era officially begins in Seattle for Week 4. Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com reported the following:

"Cardinals coach Steve Wilks said Sunday he wanted to look at the video … Monday, he had made the decision… Wilks announced Josh Rosen would indeed be the Cardinals’ starting quarterback…"

Arizona can still make a run for the playoffs. There are still thirteen games left on the schedule. Hopefully, Rosen will be able to ignite the offense and spark a run of victories.