12:57: Ewww. Dick Stockton and John Lynch. Thankfully this will be the only Patriots FOX game all year.
1:07: Patrick Peterson with a nice pickup out of the Wildcat. Shades of the 2008 Miami game?
1:12: Jay Feely field goal gives the Cards the early advantage. 3-0 Arizona.
1:16: So, Snoop Dogg (or Snoop Lion) is reduced to doing video game commercials now. The “Deez Nuts” Snoop is confirmed to be dead.
1:17: Brady’s first pass tipped and it’s intercepted by the Cards defense. Peterson with a nice one-handed INT off the tip. He’s already making his presence felt on both sides of the ball. Arizona with great field position.
1:22: It’s a good thing the Pats are facing Kevin Kolb today. Most quarterbacks would have taken advantage of the miscues so far. Had a wide open guy for the TD and he just overthrew him. Feely tacks on another FG. 6-0, Arizona.
1:27: Uh, oh. Aaron Hernandez goes down with what looks to be a broken ankle. Edelman just rolled up on the back of his leg. Not good at all. It would be a cryin’ shame if major injuries to key guys were the thing that took down this 2012 Pats offense.
1:31: Gronk gets his first look. A first down catch where Brady somehow finds a seam … three guys can’t bring No. 87 down.
1:35: Welker still hasn’t gotten a look. Conspiracy theorists unite. Gostkowski with a long FG. 6-3, Cards.
1:40: Brandon Meriweather’s old pal, Todd Heap with a nice catch. Arizona falls short of the first down, however, on the next play.
1:41: Stevan Ridley continues to whet the appetite of Pats fans with a riveting 17-yard gain. It’s just fun to watch the guy run. For as tough as BJGE was, he certainly wasn’t the most exciting rusher around.
1:46: Brady can’t find Brandon Lloyd deep. The two haven’t been as in-synch as most expected heading into the season. Still plenty of time to correct things.
1:49: Chandler Jones shows again what happens when he’s facing a 1-on-1 blocker. Great penetration on first down.
1:50: Jones nearly sacks Kolb but the Pats get the holding flag anyway. Just a great series by Jones.
1:55: Ridley stays on his feet, bounding to the first down marker. The Patriots young guns of Ridley (on offense) and Jones (on D) are once again stealing the show in Week 2.
1:58:Pats long-snapper Danny Aiken called for a false start. The Cardinals looked for sure like they jumped. And the typically timid Gillette crowd responds with some old school, Foxboro Stadium-like boos. Pats settle for another FG. 6-6 as the second quarter winds down.
2:09: Kolb fumbles into the hands of Tavon Wilson. Big turnover for the Pats.
2:10: Brady tries to duck under a sack but is eventually pulled down for a big loss.
2:11: Groves with another sack of Brady. Offensive line issues will once again be a talking point this week (along, of course, with more Welker drama).
2:18: Pats unable to get anything legit going again on offense as Ridley is stuffed.
2:21: On cue, Welker with a nice grab along the sidelines to break Troy Brown’s team record.
2:23: Brady not having much luck with the deep ball early in the season. Misses Gronkowski for a 55-yard TD. Overthrew him.
2:26: End of first half. 6-6.
2:43: Welker heating up. You just know the conspiracy theorists will say that they’re only throwing to Welker now because Hernandez is on the shelf. Had No. 81 still been out there, Welker wouldn’t have even seen the field, they’ll say.
2:46: Gostkowski with a booming, 51-yard FG. 9-6 Pats in a relative snooze-fest. The Patriots in the Belichick-era are always good for two or three of these a year. Good week for it with the road Baltimore game next week (on paper, the toughest test on the 2012 schedule).
2:55: Daryl Washington puts a lick on Stevan Ridley. If ESPN’s “Jacked Up” segment still existed (which thankfully, it does not), Ridley would have been the first guy on Monday to get the treatment.
2:56: Another Mesko punt … BLOCKED!!! Easy path for Quentin Groves. Belichick will be livid tomorrow watching film. Special teams F-ups are truly the things that eat at BB for months. Arizona gets a first down at the Patriots’ 3-yard line.
2:59: Andre Roberts spread out left and a nicely executed pass right at the line of scrimmage gets him in for an easy Arizon touchdown. Patriots fans suddenly squirming. New England can’t keep up great play for 16 weeks, but a home loss to the Cardinals would still classify as “alarming.” 13-9, Arizona.
3:06: Ridley with a nice second burst to pick up the first down for New England.
3:09: The great Lex “Don’t call me Ike” Hilliard with a carry to pick up the first down. Apparently Hilliard is New England’s fullback today.
3:10: Pitch to Woodhead goes absolutely nowhere. The Cardinals defense has done a great job flustering the Pats offense. And the Pats are forced to bring on Mesko again.
3:18: Defense reverts back to 2009 form, mentally. Roughing the passer and a late hit along the sidelines for the Pats. Spikes and Gregory the culprits.
3:21: Early Doucet gets “jacked up” by Jerod Mayo but hangs on for the first down. Great play as Arizona looks poised to win this thing outright. End of third quarter, 13-9.
3:29: Kolb with the sneak and just like that, the Pats are down, 20-9. Stunner transpiring in Foxboro.
3:33: Brady barking out orders on the sidelines. You gotta think that everyone outside New England is starting to view Brady as a Dan Marino-like chirper on the sidelines. He has certainly shown more negative emotion on the bench in recent years. In a related matter, this ends the Brady-Marino comparison, as right on cue, Brady is marching the Pats down the field when it counts. Pass to Gronk. Circus catch by Lloyd on the sidelines.
3:34: Lloyd follows it up by dropping an easy one.
3:38: Loss of four yards as Ridley is stuffed on third down by Patrick Peterson, who is having an all-timer of a game. Pats forced to punt. Arizona has been able to halt any sort of momentum the Patriots have been able to get today.
3:41: Beanie Wells eating up clock, ripping through the Pats defense. Time ticking on the hopes of a Pats comeback. Still 20-9 with 9:50 left.
3:44: Vince Wilfork and Cunningham hunt down Doucet on third down. Still a chance to get back into this for the Pats.
3:47: Pats last home opening loss at home was Sept. 23, 2001 — the signifigance of that date? The Mo Lewis game, the start of the modern Pats era. Could this game signify the beginning of the end of the golden days? Doubtful, but who really knows?
3:48: Fans getting restless with Josh McDaniels’ play-calling as Woodhead gets nowhere.
3:49: Pats continue to play the field goal game. Another great kick by Gostkowski, a 53-yarder, his fourth of the day. 20-12, Arizona with 6:45 left.
3:52: Mayo with great pressure to force an incompletion and, more importantly, a third down.
3:53: Fitzgerald with a nice diving catch that is ruled … incomplete. Barely.
3:54: Play is under review. Looked like a catch to me. The ball hits the ground and is bobbling, but still looked good.
3:55: Huge call from the replacement refs here, and it’s ruuuuuled … INCOMPLETE. Big break for the Pats. Will see if they can take advantage.
3:59: Brady to Welker. Brady to Gronk. Pats suddenly in field goal territory with four minutes left.
4:03: Edelman hauls in another pass at the chains inside the 10. They call it a first down with 2:16 left.
4:04: Touchdown!!! Gronkowski on a slant and the Pats will go for two.
4:05: Brady targets Gronkowski … incomplete. These are the plays you expect the Pats to typically come through on. Not today. Just a great job by the Arizona defense throughout.
4:06: Pats need the Cards to go three and out and they’ll have a shot.
4:07: Feely flips out on the sidelines because Howling didn’t run it out. Calm down, Jay. You’re a kicker.
4:11: Williams rushes for the first down and just like that, fans are leaving Gillette.
4:14: 3rd and 13. 1:10 left. Last possible shot for NE. Pitched to Williams, hit by Spikes, FUMBLE!!! Recovered by the Pats. Unreal. The Patriots were on life support. A field goal is all they need and they’re already in range. Gostkowski has a good foot today as well.
4:16: Woodhead takes it 30 yards for the touchdown!!! The hundreds of people driving on Route 1 right now are cursing at strip malls.
4:17: Wouldn’t you know it? Holding.
4:19: Great screen to Welker. First down and the Pats are well into Gostkowski range. Still, you can’t help but feel like he’ll miss this considering he’s made 50 yarders all day.
4:20: Swear to god, I typed that before this … MISS. SHANK. VERY ANTI-PATRIOTS FINISH. Gostkowski’s 42-yarder pulls wide left. Unreal as the Cards pull off the biggest upset of Week 2, a 20-18 win at Gillette.
