If you can’t beat the Cardinals at home, you can’t make the playoffs. And you can’t keep your job.
That’s likely the lesson for Mike McCarthy and the Packers today after an ugly 20-17 home loss to Arizona.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was not particularly effective, and Cardinals quarterback Josh Rosen did just enough to win. In the end, the Cardinals hit a late field goal to take the lead, and Mason Crosby missed his field goal attempt as time expired.
Is it all McCarthy’s fault? No. And McCarthy may actually be learning from his mistakes: After taking a great deal of criticism for conservative fourth-down playcalling, he went for it on fourth down on the play on which the Packers scored their first touchdown. But the fact is, McCarthy simply hasn’t gotten the job done this year.
At 4-7-1, the Packers have no realistic path to the playoffs. And if McCarthy can’t make the playoffs, he likely can’t save his job.
As for the Cardinals, it was their most impressive win of the season. Rosen appears to be making progress, and they improved to 3-9.
But the story of this game was less about what Arizona did than about what Green Bay didn’t do. They didn’t do enough to save their coach’s job.