The Arizona Cardinals are absolutely spiraling, hitting a brutal streak of nine consecutive one-score game losses. This goes all the way back to Week 3 in 2025, and it’s a glaring symptom of a team that just can’t make big plays when it matters most, offensively or defensively. After their recent 36-30 loss to San Francisco, head coach Mike LaFleur didn’t pull any punches when talking about the lack of explosive plays.
Offense Stuck in Neutral, Can’t Pop a Big One
You want efficiency? The Cardinals had it, kinda. They had four possessions in the game against the 49ers that lasted at least 12 plays. That’s good clock management, right? Except none of it mattered because they had ZERO offensive plays of 20 yards or more. Think about that for a second. Zero. Their longest run was a measly eight yards. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett averaged just 7.4 yards per completion and a paltry 5.38 yards per attempt. Meanwhile, the 49ers were over here dropping six plays of 20 yards or more, with Brock Purdy averaging 19.8 yards per completion and 11.0 per attempt. The contrast is just brutal, isn’t it? LaFleur is right when he says, “It takes all 11.” He talked about receivers blocking well and getting connected, but then added, “sometimes maybe just not (having their) feet in the ground well enough at times.” It sounds like they’re doing a lot right, but the *little* things are killing them on offense. You can’t force those long runs, he said, but you gotta be ready when they “naturally pop.” And in the pass game? “It’s a real thing right now,” the coach admitted. They’re just not getting it done.
Defense Giving Up Chunk Plays, Details Are Killing Them
It’s not just the offense that’s struggling to make big plays, the defense is giving them up left and right. The numbers are frankly terrible after only three games into the season. The Cardinals are currently dead last in the NFL in average yards per completion (8.0) AND yards per completion against (14.5). They’re also 31st in yards per attempt (5.57) and last in average per attempt on defense (9.26). That’s just abysmal. LaFleur insists they have “the right play-style,” but admits they need to do “some of the little things better.” He puts it on coaching to “continue to provide the clarity to these guys so that they are in the right alignments and doing the things necessary to play good team defense.” This isn’t just a physical issue, it sounds like a mental one, or a coaching one. One block, one missed tackle, one player out of alignment, and boom, a game-changing play goes against them. The coach hit it right on the head: “when you’re trying to play good offensive football in this league and you’re having to do it through drives, drive in and drive out, it’s tough.” He gives his guys credit for being efficient for “the good part of 10 out of the 12 quarters this year,” but then he lands the punch: “man, at some point we’ve got to get a little bit more explosive.” It’s clear: the margins are razor-thin, and they just aren’t able to make those game-breaking plays needed to win.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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