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For the second week in a row, the Cardinals appeared outmanned in dropping a game to an NFC foe with a high-powered passing attack.

And now they’ll have lots of time to figure out what’s missing.

Sunday’s loss, 31-24 to Drew Brees and the surging New Orleans Saints, ended the Cardinals’ long-shot playoff hopes, at least for all practical purposes.

At 6-8, they would not only have to win their final two games, they’d have to hope for a head-spinning series of events to fall their way.

The Cardinals, whose loss followed a similar pattern to last week’s game vs. Matt Hasselbeck and the Seattle Seahawks, reacted to their fate with disappointment.

“We came very close,” said receiver Larry Fitzgerald. “We fought the good fight.”

He could have been talking about Sunday, when the Cardinals showed grit in hanging close, or about the entire season.

Linebacker Calvin Pace sounded downright angry.

“I was telling people, ‘We don’t need to talk about playoffs because, honestly, we don’t know what it takes to win to get to the playoffs.’ ”

The Saints, Pace said, are a playoff-caliber team. “They came out on point … They made all the plays.”

As for the Cardinals, Pace said, “We fell just short again. You can say it’s always a moral victory because we played hard. But at some point, you have to stop all that and find a way to win.”

Coach Ken Whisenhunt called the Cardinals “on the right track,” saying they have improved their pass protection and have run the ball well at times.

But he acknowledged they seem to lack the confidence to make key plays.

“We, as a team, are learning a lot about our players and what we can do and how we are going to do it.

“A lot of this, we are experiencing for the first time as a team. We are not handling it very well right now. Hopefully, we will learn and improve.”

On Sunday, the Cardinals were set back on their heels and then battled to avoid a blowout.

Yet, they somehow managed to hang close enough to nearly rescue their season on a fake punt early in the final quarter.

Down 31-21, on fourth-and-8 at their own 24, the Cardinals hiked the ball to blocking back Sean Morey, who ran right and picked up the first down.

“At that point we had to take a chance,” Whisenhunt said. “And Sean made a great run.”

Kurt Warner then hit Anquan Boldin with two passes to move the ball into scoring position.

On third-and-3 at the 6-yard line, the Cardinals ran a reverse featuring flanker Steve Breaston. They had just one defender to block, Saints cornerback Mike McKenzie, to score. But they couldn’t do that and had to settle for a Neil Rackers’ field goal to cut the lead to 31-24.

“I thought he was going to walk in,” Whisenhunt said of Breaston’s reverse run.

“That’s a perfect example of what I’m talking about,” he said of the Cardinals’ confidence level in making plays. “That’s the kind of play that … you’ve got to win.”

Backup cornerback Ralph Brown tried to fill the hero’s role. He knocked the ball loose from Saints receiver David Patten, giving the Cards another shot from their 43-yard line with 7:06 left. But they couldn’t move the ball, going three downs and a punt. The Saints then ran out the clock and, more than likely, the Cardinals’ season.