Cardinals’ loss to the Commanders raises questions on franchise direction

The Cardinals inflicted great pain on Sunday. Unfortunately, it landed on the wrong target.

It landed on us, buckling a fan base in Arizona weaned on a steady diet of moral victories.

A 42-14 loss to the Commanders at State Farm Stadium changes the mood and the stakes.

For the first time in Jonathan Gannon’s tenure as head coach, Valley fans are wondering about the ceiling and the direction of Team Try Hard. The Cardinals are 1-3 and just forfeited their ability to make you feel good about losing.

The honeymoon is over. The schedule gets rougher. There are many layers to our grief:

There is pain in watching Jayden Daniels ascend as one of the great young quarterbacks in NFL history. We all witnessed his uncommon poise and skill when he was a freshman at Arizona State, only to regress under the guidance of careless and incompetent hands. Since leaving ASU, he has won a Heisman Trophy and is currently setting the NFL aflame. Good for him.

Even worse:

Kliff Kingsbury was once tasked with developing Kyler Murray, the No. 1 overall draft pick and our own Heisman Trophy winner. The results were mixed during their celebrated collaboration in Arizona. Murray flashed as an MVP candidate and quickly faded. His lone playoff experience under Kingsbury was an epic nightmare. It was clear the two competitors did not get along.

It was also clear that Kingsbury’s static and stagnant offense was an affront to defensive coordinators in the NFL, and sitting ducks come November. By the end of their relationship, we also knew that Kingsbury was not a good head coach, lacking the big-picture leadership skills and alpha-male fortitude to challenge underperforming players.

But on Sunday, he proved he might be a great offensive coordinator with the right quarterback. And to watch Kingsbury pour it on the Cardinals with a rookie quarterback also strongly suggests that our sixth-year franchise quarterback may not be the answer, either. It was a loss that quickly and rightfully awakened Murray’s most fervent critics.

“It can’t look like that,” Gannon told reporters about his team’s overall performance.

It isn’t just Murray. The Cardinals generated zero pressure on Daniels because they are largely underfunded, currently skimping on pass rushers, pass defenders and depth on the offensive line. Those deficiencies fall on owner Michael Bidwill and general manager Monti Ossenfort. But you would never expect the Cardinals to struggle with the Commanders’ pitiful defense, which entered the game among the worst in the NFL.

The outcome shook the faith of those who thought 2024 was Murray’s time for vengeance, receipts and redemption. And it led to uncomfortable conclusions, that Murray’s best might not be good enough for an NFL team with real aspirations.

Reach Bickley at dbickley@arizonasports.com. Listen to Bickley & Marotta weekdays from 6–10 a.m. on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

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