A 20-17 loss on the road in Tampa Bay officially eliminated the Arizona Cardinals from playoff contention. The earliest this has happened for the team since 1986, before they moved to the desert from St. Louis.
It may be an officially lost season, but the Cardinals had plenty of opportunities to win on Sunday against a Buccaneers squad that was not playing close to their full offensive potential.
Turnovers and the offense’s inability to get the ball into scoring position put the defense in a tough position all afternoon, a theme that has repeated itself over and over in 2025.
It is the fact that 7 out of 9 losses this season have come down to a total negative point differential of just 19 points that has deflated this fanbase and led to widespread dissatisfaction with a team that was expected to continue their pattern of progress under head coach Jonathan Gannon.
Nov 30, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Arizona Cardinals linebacker Josh Sweat (10) sacks Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) during the first half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Execution Grade: C
The inability of the Cardinals to play a full game of complementary football has been their main downfall this season and at the root of that is a problem with execution across the board.
There are absolutely individual examples of great football still being played here. A prime example is Josh Sweat, an offseason addition who is living up to all expectations, meeting his career high of 11 sacks in Sunday’s meeting against the Buccaneers.
However, entire position groups are playing far below expectations, most notably the offensive line.
It is true that this was one of the better running games of the past few weeks, but that is still not saying much considering the leading rusher, Bam Knight finished the afternoon with 62 yards and the team as a whole came in under 100 yards yet again.
Brissett managed a decent target share distribution again, working Marvin Harrison, Jr. back into the lineup with some early balls going his way. Trey McBride continued his ways of excellence with 8 receptions for 82 yards and a score, breaking Jimmy Graham’s record for most receptions by a tight end in their first four seasons.
The linebacker group has been sorely missing Mack Wilson, Sr. as well, but at least there might be a silver lining in getting the rookie Cody Simon some learning snaps in what is already a lost season.
Nov 30, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Haason Reddick (5) tackles Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride (85) during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Physicality Grade: C
The greatest indictment in this category came from watching the offensive line go up against a stout Bucs defense.
There were some decent run plays where this group managed to stand up straight and open some holes for Knight, but otherwise it was a fairly significant mismatch on Sunday afternoon.
Vita Vea was eating double teams and the Bucs were consistently collapsing a weak Cardinals offensive line that only gave up two sacks but let Brissett get hit a total of seven times.
Minus some of the standout players on this team like Sweat and McBride, the 2025 version of the Cardinals has shown significantly less physicality than the reputation they earned as a gritty, tough squad in Gannon’s first two years at the helm.
Cardinals offensive coordinator Drew Petzing talks to his offense during Cardinals training camp at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, on July 31, 2025. | Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Creativity Grade: D+
Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing has the ability to put together a strong opening drive, although on this specific occasion it ended in disaster with a Brissett interception, but he is notably weak in the area of situational play calling.
Poorly timed screens, ineffective inside zone runs, plays that don’t develop deep routes well, there are a plethora of problems to note when it comes to how Petzing approaches his play calling duties.
The plus on the D+ for this section comes from the performance of Nick Rallis, who can’t be overly blamed for some poor defensive efforts after a faltering offense put the entire onus of the game on them once again.
Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield himself noted that the pressure packages brought against him by the Cardinals were effective in unsettling him and praised the creativity of Rallis’ play calling.
Nov 30, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Anthony Nelson (98) reacts after a play during the second half against the Arizona Cardinals at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Discipline Grade: B
Although it is a low bar, the team has rebounded from the historically bad 17 penalty outing two weeks ago against the San Francisco 49ers.
This Sunday, officiating didn’t play a major role with the team only racking up 4 for a total loss of 33 yards.
It seemed that the Cardinals played a relatively clean game and it was clear the offensive line was much more careful about hand placement, etc. The result came down far more to poor execution and poor play calling than it did to an undisciplined unit.
Nov 30, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back Michael Carter (22) runs against Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Logan Hall (90) during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Resilience Grade: C
After back to back division blowouts in Weeks 10 and 11, the Cardinals have returned to their previous losing ways by managing to stay in games to the very end only to be unable to secure a victory.
After some bad bounces early, like the aforementioned Brissett interception, and later a Knight fumble the Cardinals did keep the game close, getting within 3 points late in the fourth after having been down 14 to start the second half.
The desire is there from the players, but when coaching is off and individual execution is not up to par it is incredibly difficult to win games in this league.
Getting a read on how the locker room feels is difficult when it is clear that these hyper-competitive athletes are frustrated at their long list of losses but espouse such clear support of Gannon and this entire coaching staff.
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