By BOB BAUM
Associated Press Writer
TEMPE (AP) -- After a loss that coach Ken Whisenhunt said "makes you feel sick to your stomach," the Arizona Cardinals are trying to count the positives and be encouraged by the reality that they are still in the hunt in the NFC West.
Arizona has lost three in a row, the last two of them of the gut-wrenching variety, but at 3-5 halfway through the season, the Cardinals are only one game behind co-leaders Seattle and St. Louis in a division that seems to have gone from bad to worse this season.
Add that to the fact the Cardinals play four of their next five at home, starting with the Seahawks on Sunday, and there is legitimate reason for optimism.
But blowing a 14-point lead with four minutes to go in Minnesota, then having to watch constant television replays of Brett Favre's heroics make Sunday's 27-24 overtime loss to the Vikings a tough one to shake off.
"When you're losing a game like we did at Atlanta (41-7) and San Diego (41-10), that's bitter. It's hard to lose that game," Whisenhunt said, "but when you lose one like we did the last two weeks, it makes you sick to your stomach. It sticks with you."
Two weeks ago, at home against Tampa Bay, Arizona had the ball at the Buccaneers 20-yard line late in the game and expected at the least to get a game-tying field goal, but Derek Anderson forced a pass into coverage and it was intercepted, resulting in a 38-35 loss.
On Sunday it was even worse. Arizona played its best game of the season, got two touchdowns from special teams and a steady performance from Anderson to build a 24-10 lead, only to see Favre lead the Vikings to a stirring comeback.
"We just can't finish things off," said safety Adrian Wilson, who said he "wouldn't change a thing" in the way he defended Minnesota's Visanthe Shiancoe on Favre's perfect 25-yard touchdown pass with 27 seconds left in regulation.
Whisenhunt said he will enforce the 24-hour rule: feel sick about the game today, but get ready for Seattle after that.
"Two weeks in a row now at the end of a game we've had chances to win the game and it's hard," Whisenhunt said. "Emotionally it takes a toll on you from that standpoint, so sitting here on Monday it's hard to look ahead, but I think that's where our focus has to be."
Three of the next four games are against division opponents, all at home. The lone road game in that stretch is Nov. 21 at Kansas City.
Safety Kerry Rhodes intercepted Favre and nearly scored a touchdown only to have the ball stripped from him just before reaching the goal line. He said it's up to the team's veterans to keep things positive.
"I've said it before," he said. "I was on a Jets team where we were 3-5 (actually 4-4) going into the bye, came back out, went on a streak and finished 10-6. So it can happen. We've got a lot of players who can make plays and I think we're starting to get things straight."
The Cardinals came into the game leading the league in turnovers with 23 and were minus-9 in takeaways. But they were plus-2 against Minnesota with Rhodes' fumble the only turnover.
"I think if we continue to trend the way we are with eliminating turnovers, continue to make plays on defense and special teams," Whisenhunt said, "then we're going to have a chance on the back half of our season."
Arizona lost special teams player and backup defensive end Kenny Iwebema to a season-ending knee injury. Whisenhunt said he suspected it was a torn ACL but wouldn't know for sure until tests are completed. Inside linebacker Paris Lenin went down with an ankle injury but Whisenhunt said he didn't know whether the injury was serious enough to keep him out of the Seattle game.
