Jonathan Gannon, in the span of one minute, said that the Arizona Cardinals are “not doing a good enough job,” that they’ve “got a long way to go,” and that he has “gotta coach better.”
Calais Campbell echoed his head coach’s message.
“We’re a better team than how we played today,” he said.
Kyler Murray stood at the same podium and called the afternoon “a s—show.”
These were not the typical reactions of a team that had just moved to 2-0, producing its best start to a season in four years. But the Cardinals’ 27-22 win over the Carolina Panthers in Week 2 was frustratingly familiar.
On Sept. 7, the Cardinals led by 10 points with 3 minutes left, yet needed a last-second red zone stop to claw out a win in New Orleans. On Sept. 14, the near-collapse was even more dramatic. They led, 27-3, in the third quarter before allowing three consecutive touchdown drives, each of them at least 75 yards long.
And when the Panthers recovered an onside kick immediately after the two-minute warning, the Cardinals’ defense once again had to find a game-winning stop that should never have been required.
“They’re happy about being 2-0, but they know we’ve got a long way to go,” Gannon said. “So it starts tomorrow. That’s everybody’s mood in there.”
Here are five takeaways from the win:
The ending was a disaster
When you want to be a playoff team — when you’ve built your roster to be a playoff team — these are the types of games that need to be put to bed, free of drama.
The Cardinals were up by three scores, at home, in the fourth quarter, against a team that finished 5-12 last year.
On the Panthers’ three late touchdown drives, they converted three third downs and three fourth downs, preventing Arizona’s defense from getting off the field. Afterward, Gannon took the blame, suggesting that the Cardinals got too conservative defensively down the stretch.
“When you get up like that, defensively, you’re trying to make them earn every yard,” Gannon said. “… From my standpoint, I’ve gotta coach us better to understand what’s going on in the game and what calls we need to execute to put games away.”
But it wasn’t just the lack of defensive execution. It was a full team effort.
On the final drive, the Cardinals committed a downfield holding penalty, a roughing the passer and an offsides — giving Bryce Young far too many opportunities, even if he was unable to take advantage.
And on offense, the Cardinals’ final two drives ended on an interception and a three-and-out. The three-and-out came after a gain of seven on first down because the Cardinals had a run play blown up on second down and a miscommunication between Murray and Michael Wilson on third down. Those seemingly minor miscues nearly proved fatal.
Secondary injuries are a major concern
At various points in the game, the Cardinals sustained injuries to all three of their starting cornerbacks.
Max Melton went down in the first quarter on a tackle of Panthers receiver Tetairoa McMillan. He was met on the field by trainers, who examined his right knee before helping him off the field. After a short visit to the blue medical tent, he was carted to the locker room.
He later appeared on the sideline with a brace on that right knee, in good spirits as he greeted teammates at the final whistle.
Garrett Williams also suffered a knee injury, colliding with Budda Baker on a late touchdown pass. He was helped off the field by trainers and was barely able to put any weight on his left leg.
Will Johnson, meanwhile, is dealing with a groin injury, Gannon said. He did not play on the final drive.
Gannon said after the game that he did not yet have a sense of the severity of any of the injuries.
“Our job is solutions, so we’ll figure out the solutions,” Gannon said.
Still, losing any of their starting cornerbacks would be a major blow to the Cardinals’ secondary, which is already without Sean Murphy-Bunting and Starling Thomas V. Both players are out for the season with torn ACLs.
Now, a unit that once looked like one of the Cardinals’ deeper groups is suddenly its thinnest.
Fifth-round rookie Denzel Burke was the first replacement at outside corner and made some promising plays with his opportunity, but asking a Day 3 rookie to take on starting snaps would be a tall ask. He also allowed a first down and was whistled for two flags, including a game-extending holding penalty.
Kei’Trel Clark was the second replacement at outside corner one week after being a healthy scratch.
The depth is less concerning at nickel, as they could likely replace Williams by sliding either Dadrion Taylor-Demerson or Jalen Thompson into that role on a more consistent basis. Williams, though, is among their most impactful defensive players.
New-look defense was encouraging
For long stretches of the day, this was the defense that was promised.
In Week 1, the Cardinals’ defense was merely solid. It limited explosive plays but managed just one sack and zero turnovers. It did not, in other words, change the game.
Week 2 was the opposite. Until the late collapse, the Cardinals’ defense dominated, making the most of their revamped personnel to generate three sacks and two takeaways.
It started on the third play of the game. With the Panthers facing third-and-7 from their own 30-yard line, defensive coordinator Nick Rallis brought out three edge rushers, aligning Josh Sweat — his marquee free agent signing — to the same side of the line as Zaven Collins. He then dropped Baron Browning into coverage on the other side, creating confusion along the Panthers’ offensive line.
Sweat took full advantage, immediately breaking into the backfield and forcing a fumble that Collins recovered for a touchdown.
The next drive was more of the same. With the Panthers again pinned back on a third-and-long, Rallis brought more pressure with Browning dropping into coverage. This time, linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. got home, hitting Young as he threw and creating an easy interception for Browning.
Even when the game went south, the Cardinals’ new acquisitions made the difference. It was Calais Campbell, after all, who brought Young down for the game-sealing sack.
“In the pass rush, last week, especially the interior, we didn’t think it was good enough,” Campbell said. “So we put a real big emphasis on rushing the passer, and I think today was a much better day.”
Kyler Murray was again a mixed bag
The drive on which Murray threw his interception encapsulated why he remains a frustrating puzzle, now in his seventh season.
Four plays earlier, he pulled off the type of dazzling escape that few players in the world are capable of. He somehow evaded a free rusher, escaped the pocket to his right, zig-zagged his way back across the field and picked up a miraculous 31 yards. He covered 67.5 yards of total distance on the play, per Next Gen Stats.
Then came the interception. With the Cardinals in chip-shot field goal range, he rolled to his left on a third down and attempted to throw the ball away under pressure, rather than taking the sack. He was hit as he threw, popping the ball up for an easy interception, his first of the year.
“It’s just the value of the ball there,” Gannon said.
Other than the interception, it was mostly a solid day for Murray, who finished 17 of 25 for 220 yards, a touchdown and an interception. His accuracy in the pocket stood out, with an ability to layer throws into tight windows, like a second-quarter touchdown pass to Michael Wilson in the back of the end zone.
“I thought he operated really well (in the middle of the game) and we were kinda doing what we wanted,” Gannon said.
Murray also added 32 rushing yards on seven attempts, continuing a willingness to use his legs that has been evident in both games thus far.
Marvin Harrison Jr. struggled at the catch point
When Marvin Harrison Jr. added 11 pounds this offseason, the hope was that he could come down with more contested catches — an area in which he struggled as a rookie.
A week after a nice 71-yard performance in New Orleans, that vision for a new version of Harrison didn’t come to fruition against the Panthers.
On one contested end zone target, he was unable to fight through the body of cornerback Mike Jackson to come down with the touchdown. It would have been a difficult catch — and Jackson played it well — but it was also the exact type of scenario in which Harrison’s added bulk should help him.
Then, on the Cardinals’ next drive, Murray hit Harrison with a beautiful, layered throw — maybe his best of the game — only to see it slip through his top receiver’s hands.
Harrison finished with just two catches for 27 yards on five targets as tight ends Trey McBride and Elijah Higgins led the Cardinals in receiving. It was the type of quiet performance that serves as a cap to the Cardinals’ offensive ceiling.