THE STORY: The stars were on the sideline. There was no Trey McBride, no Budda Baker, no names that are ultimately going to make the Cardinals go this season.

That doesn’t change the Cardinals’ goal in the preseason for coach Mike LaFleur, seeking the optimal operation that was absent Saturday night at State Farm Stadium against the Dallas Cowboys.

The result, in this case a 34-13 loss, doesn’t count, but as LaFleur says often, it doesn’t mean the game does not matter. Giving up 24 first-half points can’t happen. An inability to convert a first-and-goal, or a third-and-inches-from-the-goalline, can’t happen.

That it came after a week of “sloppy” practice did not help, LaFleur made clear afterward.

“You saw it,” LaFleur said, adding, “there’s no excuses for it.”

Not for the Cardinals to get the results the right way when they do count.

“We definitely felt that way, that (practice) was not up to our standard,” wide receiver Simi Fehoko said. “(The game) was the epitome of that. It was more us messing it up.”

Some mistakes were unavoidable. Gardner Minshew II threw the Cardinals’ first interception of the preseason, but only because Fehoko slipped coming out of his break, allowing for an uncontested pick.

Other issues were harder with which to deal. A pair of penalties by tight end Rivaldo Fairweather on one drive, both nullifying touchdowns. Two more false starts. On defense, allowing a 53-yard TD pass and a 70-yard catch-and-run on a broken play are always difficult to overcome.

“Like I told the guys, you can’t have penalties anywhere,” LaFleur said. “That’s good versus bad football. We had some in critical situations.”

The reality was also that the evening was designed to make sure the players the Cardinals will be leaning on the most were held out of harm’s way, their work coming next week in a joint practice with the Packers.

But that practice needs to be better than it was previously. LaFleur said he learned some things about practice structure, and admitted some mistakes to veteran leaders. Fehoko said perhaps it was the move back to Tempe, or maybe the heat.

Either way, he said that shouldn’t matter, and LaFleur agreed.

“Overall it was not good enough and tonight was a summary of that week in general,” LaFleur said.