Troy Aikman slams Cardinals’ ’embarrassing’ effort in loss to 49ers

It was a “Monday Night Football” to forget for the Arizona Cardinals – especially their defense, which allowed the San Francisco 49ers 38 points (and 24 unanswered) in the divisional loss.

A notable moment came late in the game, with Arizona already trailing 31-10 and on defense. 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo threw a short pass to tight end George Kittle, who was discovered in the flat and started running towards the end zone. But as Cardinals cornerback Antonio Hamilton looked like he could make a tackle, he appeared to make a trade decision and instead got out of the way, leaving Kittle running into the end zone for a touchdown.

Troy Aikman, broadcasting the game on ESPN, paid tribute to the Cardinals for their efforts during the replay.

“It’s embarrassing for the Arizona Cardinals,” Aikman said. “At the end of this game… Antonio Hamilton is not coming back, after all the tackles he made last week, and even tries to make an attempt on George Kittle. It’s a losing football team, and they play like one on this game.”

Hamilton, to his credit, recorded a career-high 12 tackles in the Cardinals’ Week 10 win over the Rams. Obviously, though, he wasn’t interested in making another against Kittle, who had two touchdowns that day.

The loss dropped the Cardinals, who were without starting quarterback Kyler Murray for the second straight game, to 4-7 this season. Meanwhile, the 49ers are now 6-4, tied for the top of the NFC West with the Seahawks.