A nightmarish 5-game stretch for the Cardinals calls into question the direction of the franchise

By Canadian Press on October 23, 2025.

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Cardinals are in a foul mood as they take a break from the NFL grind, mired in a frustrating five-game losing streak that has raised some uncomfortable questions about the direction of the franchise.

Among them: Is Kyler Murray the team’s quarterback of the future? Is Drew Petzing the offensive coordinator best suited for Murray? Has a sizable investment in upgrading the defense panned out as expected?

And maybe the most important: Has the multiyear rebuilding effort led by third-year general manager Monti Ossenfort and head coach Jonathan Gannon fizzled out?

Gannon was asked if this was the first true “crisis” in his 2 1/2 years in the desert.

He didn’t say yes, but he also didn’t say no.

“You said it, not me,” Gannon said with a wry grin. “I won’t use that word.”

“I would say we have had adversity hit us since I’ve been here, and we are in it now, right?” Gannon added. “There’s only one way to kind of flip the narrative, which I feel really confident with how we’re going to do that. We’re going to put our best foot forward, put all the energy and effort into flipping it and then let the chips fall.”

The Cardinals (2-5) are in the middle of their bye week and don’t play again until a Monday night matchup against the Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 3. The two weeks between games represents a chance to regroup and find a way to get back into the playoff race, otherwise there might be some substantial changes coming in the offseason.

The first major question revolves around Murray — the franchise quarterback who signed a $230.5 million, five-year deal in 2022 that could keep him with the Cardinals through 2028. He was the No. 1 overall pick in 2019 after winning the Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma and has had a relatively successful NFL career as a two-time Pro Bowl selection.

But there’s little doubt he has regressed in his seventh pro season.

The 28-year-old QB started the first five games and the offense was often stagnant, ranking just 30th out of 32 teams in yards passing. Murray has missed the past two games with a foot injury.

That opened the door for veteran backup Jacoby Brissett and the passing game has looked much better. The Cardinals have lost both games, but the 32-year-old Brissett threw for 320 yards against the Colts and 279 against the Packers, providing a much more consistent look under center.

Petzing — the third-year offensive coordinator — had been under scrutiny for failing to get the most out of Murray through five games, but Brissett’s good performances are evidence that Petzing might not be the biggest part of the problem.

“I’m just going off of what Drew calls and trying to execute plays,” Brissett said. “The guys in the pass game are doing a good job of getting open, making plays with the ball in their hand. The guys up front are doing a really good job.”

Gannon has said that Murray will start again whenever he’s healthy. He has been throwing in practice the past few weeks.

“We’ll see how it goes,” Gannon said. “Keeps trending.”

The Cardinals have also been disappointing on defense, which is where the front office made a sizable investment during the offseason. Ossenfort completely revamped the defensive line, adding veterans such as Josh Sweat, Dalvin Tomlinson and Calais Campbell while also drafting young talent such as Walter Nolen III and Jordan Burch.

The group has provided some good moments, but hasn’t played well in clutch situations, particularly in the fourth quarter during the past five losses.

“We’re all trying to find solutions together because you have to keep points off the board there,” Gannon said.

The five-game losing streak has also put a dent in Gannon’s job security. The Cardinals had been on an upward trajectory during the coach’s tenure — finishing 4-13 in 2023 before improving to 8-9 last season — but the past month has rattled the perception that this is a franchise on the rise.

Gannon has been relatively calm during the slide, though he did have a vulnerable moment during an Oct. 5 loss to the Tennessee Titans. The coach had a heated sideline interaction with Emari Demercado after the running back dropped the ball short of the goal-line on a potential 74-yard touchdown.

The Cardinals fined Gannon $100,000 after the game.

Gannon said he would “take accountability and move on” from the incident. Now the entire Cardinals team is trying to do the same thing in an effort to save a once-promising season.

“You have to stay fully committed to what we’re doing,” Gannon said. “Do it a little bit better, but continue to have high football character. Not skip steps, stick to your process, do everything a little bit better and punch your way out.”

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David Brandt, The Associated Press