Cardinals Did Not Lose Because Of Chad Ryland Kickoff Penalty, Coach Gannon Says

Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon refused to blame Thursday night’s loss on placekicker Chad Ryland, whose late kickoff penalty allowed the Seattle Seahawks to seal a last-second victory.

Gannon’s men found themselves down 14 points late in the fourth quarter. But two touchdowns in the final six minutes leveled the match for the Cardinals as the game looked destined for overtime.

However, with 28 seconds remaining, Ryland’s kickoff following the equalizing touchdown failed to surpass the 20-yard line. Due to new NFL rules, the Seahawks were awarded the ball at their 40-yard line with one timeout. After a 26-yard drive, Jason Myers drilled a 52-yard field goal to secure Seattle’s eighth straight victory against the Cardinals.

After the game, Gannon was quick to defend his placekicker and said the kickoff was meant to “keep it in play.”

“That’s one of the things we talked about, late in the game, with the amount of timeouts and time, what they needed, trying to burn off some time there,” he said. “Chad played his a– off. The game doesn’t come down to one play. We didn’t do enough collectively to win the game.”

Despite the late penalty, Ryland went 2 for 2 on field goal attempts during the game, which included a 57-yard conversion. He also scored both extra points during the late Cardinals rally.

Gannon’s team will look to avoid a third straight loss on Oct. 5 as the Cardinals host the Tennessee Titans at State Farm Stadium.