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Meeting expectations: On the surface, Kliff Kingsbury has done a good job. The Cardinals are 6-5 , and four of their five losses have been one-possession games. But how much of their success is just due to Kyler Murray putting the team on his back at times? Kingsbury has had spurts where he gets too conservative at the end of games. Take last week, for example. Arizona had a first-and-10 from the New England 36 with the game tied and 2:15 left. Kingsbury had Murray hand the ball off three straight times and then settled for a 45-yard field-goal attempt, which the Cardinals missed. Why not at least try to let Murray make a play on third down? If you get a first down, you get closer and kill more clock. Maybe you end up kicking the field goal with time expiring. Maybe you even score a touchdown. Instead, the Patriots ended up kicking the game-winning field goal at the end of regulation. Kingsbury's best trait might be that he's shown he's willing to adapt. But his game management has to get a lot better.

Losing consecutive road games has them reeling a bit. Now they have to turn it around quickly with a big division game on tap with the Rams.

They're fortunate to not be on a five-game slide and need flagging QB Kyler Murray to rebound coming off first TD-less game of 2020.

Most important game remaining: Week 13 vs. L.A. Rams

If the Cardinals lose this one, their playoff hopes might be dashed. A loss would put them two games behind the Rams with four to play, but with another game against them and one against the 49ers left, the Cardinals could run out of time to catch up in the NFC West. And sitting at 6-5, Arizona has three teams nipping at its heels for the seventh and last playoff spot. Coming off a 1-3 stretch, Sunday is as close to a must-win as Arizona has faced all season. -- Josh Weinfuss

The Cardinals built a 10-0 lead early and held the Patriots to 179 yards of offense -- but unforced errors and another quiet game for Kyler Murray led to a 20-17 loss that dampened Arizona's playoff hopes. Zane Gonzalez missed wide right on a 45-yard field goal attempt with a minute to play, and Isaiah Simmons bailed out New England's meager offense with a late hit on Cam Newton that set up Nick Folk's game-winning 50-yard field goal as time expired. Murray didn't exhibit any obvious signs of the shoulder injury he suffered in Week 11, but the Patriots' defense did excellent work keeping him in the pocket and limited the dual-threat passer to just 31 rushing yards. Did New England just provide other teams a blueprint? Stay tuned.