""This," Derek Anderson said, "is obviously gonna hurt."

Well, at least his words were accurate.

Talk about a wasted opportunity. The Cardinals put the "low" in Halloween on Sunday with a performance that will trigger yet another quarterback controversy.

Derek Anderson or Max Hall? Max Hall or Derek Anderson? After a heartbreaking 38-35 loss to Tampa Bay at University of Phoenix Stadium, coach Ken Whisenhunt must commit to a quarterback and then convince his team it is still in a position to succeed. It won't be easy.

The postgame locker room was dead quiet. Players couldn't wait to escape the stench of this one, and who could blame them? The Cardinals didn't lose this game. They gave it away.

This one is on the organization for not having a better Plan B, as in "backup." OK, I'll say it: You have to wonder about Plan L, as in, "Could Matt Leinart have done better?"

Here's the crazy part. The Cardinals, if they can get their act together, still are in decent shape. Of their nine remaining games, seven are against opponents with losing records. The group left on the schedule is a combined 23-44.

They must resolve this quarterback mess first.

It has to be Anderson.

Hall might have a nice career ahead of him, but it's not now. He threw two interceptions in the first half that were returned for touchdowns. It canceled out all the positives, which included a nice play fake in the first quarter that ended up in the hands of Larry Fitzgerald for a touchdown.

Defenses have his number. During the game, cornerback Aqib Talib told teammate Ronde Barber as much.

"When we saw Max Hall in the first drive, I just said, 'We're going to get him three times, and I'm going to get two of them, Ronde.' "

Talib did get two, one from each quarterback. The Hall pass was returned 45 yards for a touchdown, and the Anderson pass came with just 2:15 remaining and the Cardinals in control of their destiny.

They were down by three and already in field-goal territory.

The only thing that could go wrong was for Anderson to force a pass.

Anderson forced a pass.

Anderson said afterward he thought he threw the ball to the right spot but would have to look at it."