CINCINNATI — It was, somehow, just five weeks ago that the Arizona Cardinals and Cincinnati Bengals shared a record. Both teams were 3-8. Both were out of playoff contention. Both had fanbases clamoring for head coaching changes.

Those similarities were hard to believe in Week 17, when the teams shared a field at Paycor Stadium. In their 37-14 win, the Bengals made the Cardinals look like a moderately athletic college team. Viewed through another prism, the Cardinals made the Bengals look like the 2007 Patriots.

Afterward, the Bengals savored a strong end to the season, in which they won three of five games. Their locker room chanted “Co-dy, Co-dy” for the offensive tackle, Cody Ford, who caught a 21-yard reception. Head coach Zac Taylor spoke about how “gratifying” it was that his team had maintained its energy. Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase said the Bengals’ past five games have revealed their “character.” Even in a 6-10 season, there are silver linings to be had.

Down a hallway, the Cardinals’ locker room offered a different soundtrack. Fresh off their eighth consecutive loss, players openly chatted among themselves while trying to understand why the team has fallen so far short of expectations. No one reached a satisfactory conclusion, including head coach Jonathan Gannon, who could only repeat the refrain that they “gotta coach and play better.” At 3-13, Gannon’s seat is now scalding.

It is not a record that can be explained by one statistic or one position group. The Cardinals’ collapse has been team-wide ever since they started the season 2-0. Next week, they can become the 18th team in NFL history to close out a season with 14 losses in 15 games.

But there were three moments from the Cardinals’ latest shellacking that stood out in illustrating why this team is so hapless.

Jonathan Gannon’s bizarre clock management

Late in the first half, the Cardinals had a brief opportunity to claw their way back in the game. Down 23-7, they took possession with 1:10 remaining, knowing they would get the ball to start the second half. If they could drive for consecutive scores, the door would be cracked open.

Instead, the Cardinals totaled minus-2 yards on those two drives.

It started with bizarre clock management. On the first play of the two-minute drill, from their own 29-yard line, the Cardinals ran up the middle with Emari Demercado. That burned 20 seconds off the clock to gain 2 yards.

At the time, it seemed that the Cardinals were just being cautious, given that Cincinnati had three timeouts remaining. Except, three plays later — after back-to-back penalties — the Cardinals called a timeout ahead of second-and-22 from their own 28-yard line.

“We’re trying to salvage a drive and score points,” Gannon said. “So I’m always gonna play that aggressive.”

That, in itself, holds water. But the timeout was incongruous with his staff’s own decision, 40 seconds earlier, to run on the first play of the drive.

It’s a trend for the Cardinals, who have struggled in end-of-half situations all year.

Their current 1-13 stretch, after all, began when they lost three straight games on walk-off field goals.

A miserable third-down attempt

Down 30-7 in the third quarter, the Cardinals had a final chance to claw themselves back into the game.

It ended, like five of their first seven drives did, with a three-and-out.

The third down play was particularly telling. The only open receiver was Michael Wilson, who had a safety bearing down on him. But even if Wilson could have had a chance for the first down, the play never got that far. Jacoby Brissett, under no pressure, sailed the throw well wide of his top wide receiver.

And if the play had somehow worked, it wouldn’t have mattered. The Cardinals lined up in an illegal formation, with too many players on the line of scrimmage.

That provided a tidy summation of the 2025 Cardinals’ offense: An ineffective playcall, poor execution and a pre-snap penalty — all at once.

Big man mocks Cardinals defense

Before this game, no 345-pound player in NFL history had ever been responsible for a 20-yard play from scrimmage.

Enter the Cardinals’ defense.

Up by 23 points in the third quarter, the Bengals lined up for a first-and-10 with offensive tackle Cody Ford split out wide. Joe Burrow later said that Chase was the first read on the play but that, in practice this week, he had thrown the ball to Ford “kind of as a joke.”

It turned out to be a joke at the Cardinals’ expense.

With Chase covered, Burrow looked to Ford. The Cardinals were defending him with off coverage — a technique typically used to guard against deep routes. Ford is, of course, not a deep threat.

But safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, who was responsible for the pre-snap check on the play, said that he never saw Ford lining up out wide — although Taylor-Demerson added that Ford’s positioning would not have affected the check.

“That was crazy,” Taylor-Demerson said. “… They threw the ball, I’m like, ‘Hold on.’ It was a little surprising.”

Still, the Cardinals were in position to stop Ford for a short gain until cornerback Denzel Burke was unable to wrestle him to the ground. That turned a four-yard catch into a record-setting 21-yarder.

Like the earlier offensive miscues, it was emblematic of this Cardinals team. They do not put themselves in good positions, and they do not execute when plays come their way.

That much was evident in their 13 missed tackles against Cincinnati. It is also evident with 13 losses in 14 games.