Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon “will never” have any problems with the offensive playcalling of his team.
He said so himself following another lackluster offensive showing in a 16-15 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
The head coach then took it a step further while on with Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo, calling Week 3’s loss the best game offensive coordinator Drew Petzing has called all year.
“I thought the best game he called this year was this one.”
Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon backs offensive coordinator Drew Petzing’s play calling against the 49ers.
Full interview from @BurnsAndGambo: https://t.co/uVhVvSPDjs pic.twitter.com/sQ8oXajUs0
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) September 22, 2025
Even if that is the case, something has got to change (and in a hurry).
Because like it or not, this offense is missing the boat in a big way three weeks in.
The run game, which this offense has been built upon since the current regime got to town, has failed to resemble anything like the past two seasons.
Three games in, Arizona ranks 16th in both rushing yards per game (111.3) and team rushing yards per play (4.3). It’s still early, but that’s a far cry from the top 10 figures the team posted across the first two seasons under the current regime.
And that’s before mentioning James Conner’s out status for the remainder of the season after suffering a foot injury in Sunday’s loss.
The already down bad rushing attack now must make up for the heart and soul of the offense with a short week of prep ahead of a Thursday Night Football with Seattle Seahawks.
No pressure.
“We’ve got to break it down and look at it,” Petzing said Monday. “I think it’s a small sample size in three games. You’re never going to judge the entire product on three games.
Cardinals OC Drew Petzing knows they need to get back to the fundamentals but isn’t worried about the multiple drops seen on tape from pass catchers early into the year.
“At the end of the day, physical mistakes are going to happen.” pic.twitter.com/vIlu4qsafE
— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) September 22, 2025
“We got to look at the things that we can do better collectively, whether it’s you know looking at the technique that we’re using up front in terms of how we’re blocking things, the way it’s being called, the way it’s being schemed, why things aren’t working necessarily the way we want them to and also not abandon it just because we played some good fronts in tough environments and maybe hasn’t come out quite the way we wanted to at times.”
At the forefront of Arizona’s biggest offensive issues is the rushing attack. Not only is it sputtering at best, it is also doing zero favors for a passing game that is 28th in the league (165 yards per game).
Not having that threatening run game to keep defenses honest, opponents don’t have to sell out as much, allowing them to hone in that much more on shutting down the passing game.
You get that run game looking anything like what it did the past two seasons, things are going to open up elsewhere. You can’t have one without the other.
“I think we called somewhere around 24 runs and 17 of them are not efficient. We have to get that better because the hat that I did wear on defense, when you’re not running the ball efficiently, you are making it a lot easier on the defense to defend you,” Gannon said Monday. “There’s not a lot of good calls run or pass when you’re behind the sticks.
“With saying that, our fundamentals and our techniques have to show up a little bit better. They’ve got to improve from this and we got to realize why runs aren’t being efficient and how everybody fits into that. I think if we just control that, we’ll put them in the right spots — that’s our job — but then let’s control the technique part of it and make some hay.”
Even with an improved offensive showing, don’t expect much reprieve with Seattle next up on the national stage.
Outside of being down Conner, the Cardinals are up against the seventh best run-stopping defense in the league, highlighted by the third fewest rushing yards allowed per play at 3.2.
Things are going to get a lot harder and louder if there isn’t a path forward through the slog that’s been the run game.
Cardinals’ Drew Petzing not only Cardinal dropping the ball offensively
That being said, there’s another factor greatly impacting this offense three weeks in: Drops.
To be fair, Petzing and the offense had multiple opportunities to stretch the lead or put the game on ice on Sunday.
Quarterback Kyler Murray did his job, too, finding the open options that should have moved the chains or added to the scoreboard.
Instead, pass catchers couldn’t do just that.
Whether it be Marvin Harrison Jr.’s wide-open drop that made the rounds on social media or Emari Demercado’s in the red zone, Arizona had its chances to win.
Don’t forget about Zay Jones’ drop on third down with just two minutes to play that would have salted away the game. Upton Stout deserves credit on the play, but that’s a one-on-one Jones has to win.
If any of those passes are completed, the Cardinals likely win the game and the lens isn’t as glaring on the offensive issues front.
But even with a 3-0 mark, the questions surrounding the offense wouldn’t have just vanished into thin air.
Can the emergence of more Trey Benson in the run game and a potential change along the offensive line (cough, Will Hernandez, cough) turn things around in short order?
We’ll find out soon enough.
