Cards in search of answers as playoff chances dim

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Arizona Cardinals‘ 38-10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday wasn’t just their third straight since their bye — it completed a swift plummet from the top of the NFC West to the bottom in less than a month.

On Nov. 10, after beating the New York Jets for their fourth straight win, the Cardinals were first place in the NFC West, primed for playoff run. They have since lost all three games they’ve played, falling into a tie with the San Francisco 49ers for last place in the division at 6-7, likely ending Arizona’s playoff hopes.

After heading into Sunday’s game with a 36% chance of making the playoffs, ESPN Analytics now has the Cardinals with an 11% chance. The Cardinals have a stockpile of questions about what has just happened.

“I got to find some answers to get us going a little bit,” coach Jonathan Gannon said. “We haven’t played great here the last couple of weeks, so that falls on me.

“So, got to go back to the drawing board tomorrow, get these things corrected, put them in better position and we got to win a game.”

To get to those answers, Gannon said he and the Cardinals’ coaching staff will make sure they’re “thinking critically” about whether they’re putting players in the right positions. Part of Gannon’s corrections will be to “tweak some things.” Gannon didn’t expand on what specifically but added that Arizona will stick with its process.

The Cardinals locker room was melancholy after the game, in part from the loss and in part from the position they’ve put themselves in — which Gannon called “a little bit of a hole.” Linebacker Kyzir White said the Cardinals knew Sunday was a “big game” for their postseason aspirations but to “lose in the fashion we did, definitely a bad feeling.” Wide receiver Zach Pascal called it disappointing but said the current situation is a learning lesson.

“These type of situations will let you know who you got on your team,” he said. “If you’ve got somebody that’s going, ‘All right, well we done.’ I’m like, ‘We don’t even need you here.’ We’re going to keep swinging. [Gannon] preaches it all the time: Keep swinging, keep swinging, resiliency. I mean, s—, that’s what got us here.

“So, we got to continue on that same path. We just got to get better outcomes.”

Players offered a few answers as to why the Cardinals have lost three straight out of the bye and sit in the last place.

“Just ain’t reaching our expectations, not playing to our expectations on all three phases,” White said. “I just feel like we ought to be more complete.”

Added Pascal: “Penalties been killing us. I mean, they’ve been killing us.”

Despite Pascal believing Arizona has been steadily improving, he said the Cardinals are “tired of the outcome.”

“I feel like we got to clean up our penalties,” he said. “We got to be more focused on technique and details within the game, offense.

“I just think we’re playing a little too unfocused, not locking in on details.”

Frustration at losing control of their own destiny permeated throughout the locker room after the game.

“Yeah, it sucks. It sucks, obviously, when you feel like you put yourself in this position, but at the end of the day, we got to show up again,” quarterback Kyler Murray said. “We got to show up, we got to show up. We got another home game next week. Put our best foot forward when it comes down to it.”

Murray shouldered the blame for the loss after throwing two picks, both of which the Seahawks turned into touchdowns. But the sixth-year quarterback said he doesn’t feel like he needs to press to turn the losses into wins starting Sunday against the New England Patriots.

“I feel like I let the team down today,” Murray said. “Self-explanatory. Can’t do that.”