Cards notebook: Team finds positives in ugly loss

Even the miserable aftermath of a 48-20 loss couldn’t conceal a few positives from the Cardinals’ perspective.

Cardinals carved up by Eagles

First, they didn’t allow a sack against a blitz-heavy Philadelphia Eagles’ defense. Second, they made it a game briefly when a touchdown early in the fourth quarter cut the deficit to 14 points — and they got the ball back.

Third, the team arrived home shortly before sunrise on Friday morning, which allowed the buses to detour into shopping malls, and the players got some shopping done at 5 a.m.

In truth, the last part was a joke from coach Ken Whisenhunt, who went from the airport back to the Cardinals complex to go through the game film while players are off until Tuesday.

And, in truth, moments of happiness were few and far between. The Cardinals (7-5) had a chance to become the first Western team this season to win a game after flying East, and instead found themselves trying to heal mostly mental wounds, unable to alter public perception about the team’s lack of success against the physical, run-first mentality of the opposite coast.

“I think there’s a lot of perceptions about the Cardinals and this team,” Whisenhunt said. “We’ve changed a number of those perceptions this year. I believe we’ll have an opportunity to change that one. We didn’t do anything to change it (Thursday) night, but I believe we’ll get another opportunity to do that.

“The only way we’re going to change those perceptions is for us to go into that type of situation and be successful, and that’s what we’re looking to do.”

Similar to the New York Jets game two months ago, or last year’s trips to Baltimore, Washington and Tampa Bay, the Cardinals were nowhere to be found early. Unable to stop the Eagles or run the ball — two prerequisites against good teams on the road — it was 21-0 after 13 plays.

When Arizona clawed back to within 14 points early in the fourth quarter, a rare Anquan Boldin turnover led to more Eagles points and put the game out of reach.

Granted, a three-day turnaround and cross-country flight after playing the New York Giants didn’t help, and though Whisenhunt “absolutely” felt those elements were a factor in the team’s rough start to the game, he also acknowledged that the Cardinals can’t use those outside factors as crutches.

“I don’t think we accept the fact we lost, and I believe you’re going to have to play a team like that and win on the road,” he said. “Whatever the situation is, you have to be mentally tough enough to start better than we did, and that’s the one thing we have to learn from this game.”

This team, with its deep playoff aspirations, knows it will eventually have to play on the East Coast in January to have any sustained postseason success. They’ll get one more chance Dec. 21 at New England. The Cardinals will almost assuredly have the NFC West clinched by then (they could clinch it Sunday if Buffalo defeats San Francisco), while the AFC East Patriots could still be vying for playoff positioning themselves.

Therein lies a potential positive. The Cardinals have three of their final four games at home (St. Louis, Minnesota, Seattle) wedged around the Patriots, which could give the Cardinals another boost of momentum, similar to how they followed up losses to the Jets and Redskins by winning five of their next six games.

EXTRA POINTS: The Cardinals escaped relatively unscathed out of Philadelphia. Backup linebacker Pago Togafu appeared to suffer a sprained MCL on special teams during Thursday night’s game, and results of an MRI he had Friday weren’t immediately available.

Whisenhunt is also “optimistic” cornerback Roderick Hood (ribs) and linebacker Clark Haggans (foot) will be available next Sunday.