Bordow: Loss rings warning bell for Cardinals

The easy explanation is that the Cardinals suffered a letdown Sunday.

Having already clinched the NFC West title and a home playoff game, Arizona had nothing to play for in its 35-14 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

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There was no sense of urgency, no need for desperation, so the Cardinals put it on cruise control.

"It appeared to me from the game we didn't come ready to play," coach Ken Whisenhunt said.

"I just think guys got kind of lackadaisical," defensive tackle Darnell Dockett said.

That's understandable - to a point. The Cardinals haven't had any success, so how would they know how to handle it?

But there was another possibility at work Sunday: Maybe Arizona is an average team that's benefitted from playing in a lousy division.

Now, before you start sending e-mails with lots of exclamation points and capital letters, please understand that I'm not belittling the Cardinals' accomplishments. I thought they would finish 7-9, so a home playoff game in January is something to brag about.

But we've known for a while now that Arizona would make the playoffs. The more pertinent question has become what the Cardinals will do once they get there.

Based on what we've seen lately, Arizona looks like it'll be one and done.

The Cardinals have lost four straight games outside their division. They haven't beaten a team with a winning record since toppling Dallas on Oct. 12.

Sunday, they weren't even competitive. Thanks to two early turnovers and a special-teams blunder, they were behind 28-0 at halftime and being booed off the field just seven days after fans were raising glasses of champagne in their honor.

"If we want to make some noise (in the playoffs), we have to get better," Dockett said.

Can they?

Good teams have begun to catch up to Arizona's one-dimensional offense. In losses to the Giants, Eagles and Vikings, Kurt Warner threw as many interceptions (five) as touchdowns. The Cardinals have enough weapons in their passing game to be the class of the NFC West, but last I looked, San Francisco isn't going to make the playoffs.

Asked whether he was worried about the Cardinals' ability to beat elite teams, Whisenhunt replied, "I don't have that concern."

He should.

Not only has Warner slowed down, but Arizona's defense is being dominated at the line of scrimmage. The Eagles ran for 185 yards on Thanksgiving. Minnesota rushed for 239 yards Sunday, with 165 of those coming from Adrian Peterson, who would have eclipsed 200 had the Vikings held onto the ball for more than six plays in the fourth quarter.

"I compare that running back to Barry Sanders," Dockett said. "I saw him do some stuff today that made me go, 'Wow, how did he do that?'"

Meanwhile, Cardinals tackle Levi Brown, whom Arizona selected instead of Peterson in the first round of the 2007 draft, was beaten for a sack and called for a holding penalty.

Think Arizona would like to have a mulligan on that pick?

But enough about the past. The Cardinals have to travel to New England on Sunday before finishing up at home against Seattle. Chances are they'll finish 9-7, a one-game improvement over last year. That would mean they went 2-4 in their last six games, which can hardly be construed as being on a roll.

"We'll get it right whenever we need to," guard Reggie Wells said.

It's that easy? The Cardinals can turn it on and off when they want? That either makes them incredibly talented or mistakenly arrogant. Besides, wasn't Sunday fairly important given that the winner likely would sew up the No. 3 seed in the NFC?

"Obviously, we have to clean things up and go forward," Whisenhunt said.

Perception sure can change in a hurry, can't it?

Eight days ago, the Cardinals were the toast of the town. Sunday, they were booed by their fans and exposed by the Vikings.

If only they could play St. Louis every week.