FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Stephen Gostkowski lay face down on the field after missing a shot at a winning field goal. On the sideline, Kevin Kolb and the Cardinals celebrated their victory.
The most accurate kicker in Patriots history sent a 42-yard attempt wide to the left on the next-to-last play — after making three longer field goals — and the Cardinals held on for a 20-18 win yesterday.
“Nobody really gave us a chance,” said Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt, whose team was a two-touchdown underdog, “but our guys believed they could do it and it’s great to see them operate that way.”
Backup quarterback Kolb did his part by throwing for one touchdown and running for another. Arizona’s defense contributed by sacking Tom Brady four times. And the special teams came through with a blocked punt that set up a touchdown.
“We knew what kind of game this was going to be,” said Kolb, filling in for John Skelton, who sat out with a sprained right ankle.
The Patriots began their final possession after Vince Wilfork recovered a fumble by Ryan Williams at the Cardinals 30-yard line with 1:01 left. A 30-yard run into the end zone by Danny Woodhead was nullified by a holding penalty against Rob Gronkowski. New England then moved to the 24 before Tom Brady spiked the ball to stop the clock with 6 seconds remaining.
But Gostkowski sent his kick to the left, just as Billy Cundiff did facing the same goal post on a 32-yard attempt with 11 seconds left in the Patriots 23-20 AFC championship win over Baltimore last season. They visit the Ravens next Sunday.
“I had a chance to win and it came down to me and I didn’t pull through, and it stinks,” said Gostkowski, who had been 3-for-3 in his career on field goal attempts in the final two minutes with a chance to tie or win a game.
The Cardinals (2-0) have won nine of their last 11 games.
The Patriots (1-1) suffered a big loss when tight end Aaron Hernandez, their most versatile offensive player, hurt his right ankle in the first quarter. He left Gillette Stadium wearing a walking boot and carrying crutches. The Patriots gave no update on the injury.