INDIANAPOLIS — The Arizona Cardinals entered Week 6 in the most precarious position of Jonathan Gannon’s tenure.

Despite a weak starting schedule, their record stood at 2-3. They were coming off a miserable loss, in which they blew an 18-point lead to the Tennessee Titans. They were traveling on the road to face the 4-1 Indianapolis Colts. And to top it all off, their franchise quarterback, Kyler Murray, was out with a foot injury.

Yet, somehow, there they were, with 4:26 remaining at Lucas Oil Stadium and 87 yards separating them from a stunning win.

It all came to an end on the Indianapolis 9-yard line. On fourth-and-7 with under a minute remaining, Jacoby Brissett fired beyond the reach of Trey McBride, who protested for a penalty flag that never arrived. Cornerback Chris Lammons, the nearest defender, appeared to wrap both arms around McBride at the top of his route.

“I thought I got a little pass interference, but they didn’t think so,” McBride said. “Just unfortunate.”

Despite the result, the performance was enough to both inject the Cardinals with confidence and raise a series of uncomfortable questions surrounding their quarterback position.

Here are some key takeaways from the 31-27 loss.

Jacoby Brissett commanded the offense well

With Murray sidelined, Brissett was everything the Cardinals needed out of their quarterback.

All day, he was calm and composed in the pocket, standing in against pressure and scanning the field for open receivers. He didn’t have any completions go for over 30 yards, but he consistently worked the intermediate areas to keep the Cardinals on track. He finished the day with 27 completions on 44 attempts for 320 yards — the most from a Cardinals quarterback this season.

That stat line came despite Marvin Harrison Jr. exiting with a concussion in the second quarter, leaving Brissett to rely on Michael Wilson and Zay Jones as his top receivers. Jones led the Cardinals in receiving, with 79 yards.

Brissett’s impressive performance started on the Cardinals’ first drive of the game, with a pass that fell incomplete but hinted at what was to come. With pressure in his face, Brissett stood strong and tried to hit Trey McBride on a crossing route — an element that has often been absent from the Cardinals offense, as Murray has struggled to remain composed under pressure in recent weeks.

A drive later, Brissett made his composure count. On third-and-17, he had pressure off the right side of the offensive line but again stood strong and looked for McBride. This time, he layered a perfect ball to the tight end, setting up a touchdown.

All day, that was what Brissett’s best moments looked like. Calm, composed, accurate. He took just one sack on 22 pressures, per Pro Football Focus. This season, Murray has taken 16 sacks on 66 pressures.

It wasn’t perfect — Brissett completed just seven of his 20 attempts under pressure — but it was enough to keep the offense humming, as that unit scored its most points of the season. Even his interception seemed to come down to external factors, as Zay Jones was bumped off his route as Brissett threw.

Afterward, though, Gannon repeatedly shot down questions about Murray’s job security.

“He’s the starting quarterback,” Gannon said.

Another late defensive meltdown

By one efficiency metric — expected points added — the Cardinals’ defense entered this week as the league’s best in the first three quarters. In the fourth quarter, they were the 27th.

The same story unfolded against the Colts.

Through three quarters, the Cardinals had allowed 17 points on 5.2 yards per play. They were corralling a Colts offense that had been averaging 32.6 points per game.

Then, once again, it all fell apart. In the fourth quarter, the Cardinals allowed consecutive touchdown drives on 7.9 yards per play. And even when they clung to hopes of a miracle, needing a three-and-out to give their offense one final chance at a Hail Mary, they quickly allowed a first down to seal the game.

Gannon pinned those struggles on three areas: Explosive plays, third-down details and an inability to stop the run. Jonathan Taylor finished with 21 carries for 123 yards and a touchdown.

“Jonathan Taylor’s a good player,” Gannon said. “We knew that coming in. But I thought he had a little too much today.”

The Colts also got a big fourth quarter out of Daniel Jones, who completed all nine of his pass attempts under pressure for 94 yards, per PFF. The other team, as Gannon likes to say, has a role too.

But for the Cardinals’ defense, this is a trend that needs fixing.

Cardinals’ injuries keep piling up

Harrison’s concussion is the latest blow to a Cardinals team that has dealt with a non-stop string of injuries in recent weeks.

The injury came as Harrison continued his recent hot stretch.

He entered the game with 156 receiving yards over his past six quarters — a turnaround that began after a miserable first half against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 4. He only had 32 receiving yards in this one before exiting, but the catch on which he suffered the concussion was impressive. Brissett slightly underthrew him on a deep crossing route, but Harrison made a strong physical catch through contact before his head bounced off the turf.

Harrison was then summoned into the blue medical tent by trainers despite his protests. After a lengthy evaluation, he was walked to the locker room and did not return.

It wasn’t the only injury for the Cardinals. Backup tight end Travis Vokolek was carted off with a neck injury after a scary collision on a kick return. And third-down back Emari Demercado left with an ankle injury.

Those absences can be added to a list of injuries that already includes the Cardinals’ top two running backs (James Conner and Trey Benson), first-round pick Walter Nolen, edge rusher B.J. Ojulari and slot corner Garrett Williams.

Run game struggled again

After the game, Gannon praised Michael Carter and Bam Knight, the running backs who shouldered the majority of Arizona’s workload. Their stats, though, continued to tell a concerning story about this rushing attack.

Combined, the Cardinals’ running backs finished with just 69 yards on 21 carries — good for 3.3 yards per carry. As a team, they’ve now rushed for under 4.0 yards per carry in three of six games after finishing below that mark just three times all of last season.

That, in turn, makes life more difficult on their offense, as opponents can key in on the passing game.

In the second quarter, the Cardinals turned from Carter to Knight as their lead back, though Gannon explained that change was due to Demercado’s injury. With Demercado out, the Cardinals wanted Carter to serve as their third-down back, which made Knight the early down back.

“We kinda have their roles structured how we have them with the plan,” Gannon said. “So I don’t know if it’ll be the same next week. But with Emari going down, then Mike was gonna have to pick up a little more third down. That’s why you saw a little more first and second down with Bam. But they were all gonna touch it and play today.”

Cardinals sloppiness continued

Even as the Cardinals’ offense found a better rhythm than it has all season, it continues to struggle with inexplicable sloppiness.

The Cardinals had two false starts, an ineligible man downfield penalty and an illegal formation. Some penalties — think Zay Jones’ first-half facemask as he went up for a contested catch — are inevitable, but these are the infractions that Gannon labels “non-negotiable.”

This season, they’ve happened far too often. Last week, Gannon pinned them on the “details of coaching,” though he defended offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, taking the blame himself. This week, he will again be looking for an answer to those self-inflicted wounds.

“We’ve gotta make sure we eliminate the negative plays,” Gannon said. “That’s hurting. That hidden yardage in there, that’s hurting right now. And it makes it really hard to put points on the board.”

Those struggles popped up again on the final offensive play of the game. The Cardinals struggled to get to the line of scrimmage in time, rushing their operation ahead of the game’s decisive moment.

“I could’ve communicated a little bit better,” Brissett said. “And I think that would’ve probably helped alleviate some of the confusion.”

Those moments can be the difference between winning and losing. As the Cardinals dropped their fourth straight, it’s a lesson they learned the hard way once again.