Bordow: Cards shouldn’t be discouraged by loss

Ken Whisenhunt laughed and smiled and even told a joke or two. There was no anger in his voice or fury in his manner.

Sure, he was disappointed by the Cardinals’ 37-29 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday.

But discouraged? Not a chance.

Cardinals come up short in loss to Giants

Cards restrict Giants' running game

Cardinals surprised by Giants passing game

Special-teams miscues prove costly

SLIDESHOW: Cardinals vs. Giants

See, there are defeats that rip the heart out of a team. The Cardinals have had plenty of those over the years.

But some losses are just a prick to the skin. You feel it for a minute, and then it’s gone.

So it was with the Cardinals on Sunday. They played the best team in the NFL, the defending Super Bowl champions, and had cornerback Ralph Brown not let an onside kick bounce off his hands with four minutes left, they had a chance to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Maybe, as safety Adrian Wilson insisted, Arizona is past the days when it should be celebrating moral victories.

But the Cardinals were not embarrassed by the Giants or exposed as some NFC West fraud. Instead, they were revealed for what they are: A good team that’s not ready to beat a great team like New York, even when the Giants play without running back Brandon Jacobs (knee) and lose wide receiver Plaxico Burress (hamstring) early in the first quarter.

“I think we matched up very well with them and went toe-to-toe for 60 minutes,” quarterback Kurt Warner said. “I think that says a lot about our football team.”

What happened Sunday was no surprise. The Cardinals had to play a perfect game to beat the Giants. And they didn’t.

With the exception of J.J. Arrington’s kickoff returns, their special teams were deplorable, handing the Giants 11 points in the first half.

Arizona couldn’t put any pressure on Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who was 16-for-18 in the second half and 26-for-33 overall, for 240 yards and three touchdowns.

The Cardinals also turned the ball over twice. The Giants didn’t have a single turnover.

Game, set, no other explanation needed.

“You’re talking about one of the best teams in the NFL,” Warner said. “We’re not in a position where we can do that kind of stuff.”

If there was one disturbing element to come out of the loss, it’s that the Cardinals are becoming even more one-dimensional. On Sunday, they rushed for a season-low 23 yards, and they twice had to settle for short field goals in the first half because they couldn’t push the ball across with their running game.

Arizona throws the ball well enough to beat most teams. But against the NFL’s elite, having no option besides Warner’s right arm isn’t going to get it done. Not to mention the health risk Warner is taking when he has to put it up 52 times, as he did Sunday.

“I know how hard it is to throw 50 times a game,” Warner said. “It’s tough to do against good football teams and not have turnovers.”

There’s not much the Cardinals can do about their running game. They’re certainly not going to go back to Edgerrin James, and Tim Hightower has been neutralized since his first start. He had 21 yards on 11 carries Sunday.

The Giants, meanwhile, can do it all. When they need to throw, they can. When they want to run, they will. And they can get enough pressure from their defensive line that they rarely leave their secondary in man-to-man coverage.

That’s how you win one Super Bowl and become the overwhelming favorite to win a second straight.

“They’re a great football team. Hands down, no doubt about it,” free safety Antrel Rolle said. “But we’re a great team, also.”

Great? No. But their magic number to clinch the NFC West is one. For now, that’s good enough.