If a seventh straight loss wasn’t enough for the Cardinals against the Atlanta Falcons, injuries persisted in another one-score L, 26-19, for their home finale.
Arizona (3-12) had sprinted out to a 10-0 lead early on but failed to produce offensively in the second half and had to rely once again on a late fourth-quarter drive to tie the game. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett tossed an interception with under 90 seconds remaining, a nifty snag by C.J. Henderson, and that was all she wrote.
Brissett, who has largely been effective since taking over as QB1 for the injured Kyler Murray, was held in check with 16-for-31 passing, one touchdown and a pick. For the second week in a row, however, he was kept upright behind just two sacks.
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The injuries came early and often, with linebacker Josh Sweat (ankle) not returning, cornerback Garrett Williams (Achilles) and defensive lineman Walter Nolen III (knee) being carted off and center Hjalte Froholdt and safety Budda Baker having injury scares.
For the first time in quite some time, tight end Trey McBride was unable to do some serious damage, as his 16-game streak of at least five catches ended with four for 27 yards.
Receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. returned after missing the two previous games with a heel injury but was silent behind one catch for 14 yards.
While fellow wide out Michael Wilson only had one more reception and 52 yards, his circus TD catch kept Arizona in striking distance.
The latest loss didn’t affect the Cardinals’ 2026 NFL Draft positioning, with them still slotted at No. 6 overall due to a strength of schedule tiebreaker.
Reactions as Cardinals drop home finale vs. Falcons
Vince Marotta, co-host of Bickley & Marotta:
I know I’ve been critical several times this season of how Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon says the same things after every single loss.
You know what? I think I get it now. What else can you say when your team does all the same things to lose games every week?
Sunday was a carbon-copy Cardinals’ loss. The game is right there for the taking but this team can’t make enough plays to win. The Falcons leave town with a 26-19 victory.
The Arizona defense came up with a big stop on a fourth-down play to give the ball back to Jacoby Brissett and Co. with an opportunity to win the game with 2:05 remaining. On a first-down play from the Atlanta 42, Brissett threw an errant pass that was picked off by C.J. Henderson to ice the game for the Falcons.
The Cardinals actually ran the ball quite well (for them), gaining 132 yards on the ground, but did that come at the expense of the passing game? Brissett wasn’t accurate (16-of-31) and was only able to complete a total of seven passes to the trio of Trey McBride, Michael Wilson and Marvin Harrison Jr. Both McBride and Harrison dropped touchdown passes.
Chad Ryland kicked three field goals, but missed two big ones that loomed large. He’s missed six field goals over his last six games.
Once again, the Cardinals suffered a bunch of injuries, with Garrett Williams and Walter Nolen III both being carted off.
I’ll say the same thing I said last week. This season can’t end soon enough.
Dave Burns, co-host of Burns & Gambo:
Kellan Olson was filling in for Gambo on Friday and asked me if I was still rooting for a win. Reluctantly, the answer was yes even though I knew it wasn’t rational, logical or reasonable.
I was clinging to the notion that a win would briefly change the morbid tone of this season. Well, I surrender. Probably way too late for it to matter at this point — I might even be the last one left — but I surrender. The only thing that matters right now is getting the best pick you can.
The Cardinals showed a bit more fight in the first half, scoring on their first three drives of the game for the first time this season.
Eventually they succumbed to too many injuries, too much Bijan Robinson, too many missed field goals and one big drop by Marvin Harrison Jr. in the end zone. Whatever chances they had to change the tone around this team, if even for just a day or two, passed them by in the second half.
It wasn’t the blowout we’ve become accustomed to but that provides no comfort. They’re two losses away from their first 14-loss season in franchise history.
The injuries were the big story; Garrett Williams and Walter Nolen are two young building block pieces and both had to be carted off with what appeared to be noncontact injuries. For Williams, it was an Achilles. For Nolen, a knee. Without knowing the specifics, anything that bleeds into next season would be the worst of all outcomes.
Tyler Drake, Cardinals reporter & co-host of Cardinals Corner:
Injuries and the inability to get it done in crunch time. Sunday’s game about summed up the Cardinals’ 2025 campaign.
It’s tough to find a bright spot in Arizona’s home finale outside of the fact the Cardinals didn’t give up 40 points for a third straight week.
The usual bright spot couldn’t even get much going, with tight end Trey McBride failing to reel in five catches in a game for the first time since last year. Michael Wilson still found the end zone (in the wildest way possible), but struggled to do much of anything else behind two catches. Meanwhile, Marvin Harrison Jr. was just about a no-show in his return to play.
The only real silver lining?
The Cardinals’ loss dropped the Rams’ first-round pick it nabbed from the Falcons last year. It’s currently one spot out of the top 10 at No. 11 overall. Hey, at least it’s something…
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