October 17, 2026
October 17, 2026
Arizona Cardinals 2025: How a 2-0 Start Became a 3-14 Free Fall
The Cardinals’ 2025 collapse remains one of the most painful stretches in franchise history. Arizona opened with two wins and a roster built for a playoff push. Then the bottom fell out. The Cardinals lost 14 of their final 15 games, closed on a nine-game losing streak, and finished 3-14. By the first Monday of January, head coach Jonathan Gannon was out of a job.
Arizona entered 2025 believing its rebuild was nearly finished. The 2024 team had gone 8-9, the best record of the Gannon era, and general manager Monti Ossenfort attacked the defensive front with urgency. Edge rusher Josh Sweat arrived from Philadelphia, and veteran Calais Campbell returned to the desert to supply leadership and grit.
The draft doubled down on that vision. Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen III went 16th overall. Michigan cornerback Will Johnson followed in the second round, with Oregon edge rusher Jordan Burch in the third. Ohio State teammates Cody Simon and Denzel Burke added depth at linebacker and cornerback.
The offense carried its own promise. Trey McBride had become one of the league’s premier tight ends, and Marvin Harrison Jr. was entering his second season. James Conner anchored the backfield, Kyler Murray was entering his seventh year, and Jacoby Brissett signed as the backup. That last move would matter far more than anyone expected.
Expectations were measured but real. The front office had spent two years stockpiling young talent, and this was the season meant to show a return on that patience. The schedule opened with winnable games, and a fast start looked like the path into the playoff race. Arizona believed a healthier, deeper roster could finally turn close losses into wins.
September opened exactly as Arizona had scripted it. The Cardinals ground out a 20-13 road win in New Orleans behind a stubborn defense. A week later they raced to a 27-3 lead over Carolina at State Farm Stadium.
Then the cracks appeared. The Panthers stormed back with touchdown after touchdown and pulled within five. Carolina had one last chance to steal the game, but Campbell crashed through for a sack that ended it. Arizona held on 27-22 and sat at 2-0, though the late fade was an early warning.
What followed defined the entire year. For three straight weeks, Arizona lost on a field goal as time expired.
At San Francisco, the Cardinals fell 16-15 on the final snap. Four days later, Seattle did the same in a 23-20 Thursday night thriller. The Tennessee game cut deepest. Arizona led 21-6 in the fourth quarter when Emari Demercado broke free on a 72-yard run that looked like a back-breaking touchdown. He let go of the ball before crossing the goal line. Officials ruled a touchback, and the Titans took over.
Tennessee scored the final 16 points and won 22-21 on a kick at the gun. Gannon’s heated sideline confrontation with Demercado drew a $100,000 fine from the team and a public apology. A 2-0 start had unraveled into 2-3, and the locker room never fully recovered.
The injuries arrived in waves. Conner suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 3, and rookie running back Trey Benson was lost to a knee injury the following week. Murray then went down with a foot injury and eventually landed on injured reserve, ending his season.
Brissett stepped in and gave the offense a pulse. Arizona still fell 31-27 at Indianapolis and 27-23 against Green Bay, two more one-score losses that stretched the skid to five games. The effort was there. The results were not.
Coming out of the bye, the Cardinals finally broke through on the national stage. Brissett completed 21 of 31 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, and he added a one-yard sneak for good measure. Harrison set a career high with seven catches.
The defense delivered the performance the offseason investments had promised. Arizona sacked Dak Prescott five times, with Sweat and Campbell each recording two. Nolen notched his first NFL sack, Simon forced a fumble, and Burke sealed the night with a late interception. The 27-17 win at AT&T Stadium lifted Arizona to 3-5 and made the season feel salvageable. It would be the team’s last victory of the year.
The second half of the schedule turned brutal. A 44-22 loss at Seattle was followed by a 41-22 home defeat to San Francisco. That game produced a franchise-record 17 penalties, breaking a mark that had stood since 1936. It also produced one of the strangest footnotes of the season. Brissett completed 47 passes for 452 yards, setting an NFL single-game record for completions in a blowout loss.
The close calls returned soon after. Jacksonville edged Arizona 27-24 in overtime, and Tampa Bay won 20-17. Seven of the team’s losses came by four points or fewer. Few numbers capture the Cardinals’ 2025 collapse more precisely than that one.
By December, the near misses gave way to lopsided defeats. The Rams rolled 45-17 in Glendale, Houston won 40-20, and Atlanta and Cincinnati added two more losses. A 37-20 defeat at Los Angeles in Week 18 sealed the 3-14 finish, an 0-6 division record, and last place in the NFC West. The defense that had dominated in Dallas simply could not hold up as the bodies kept falling.
The injury list never stopped growing. Harrison missed five games, Nolen played only six, and Johnson and Max Melton both missed significant time. Michael Carter led the team with just 333 rushing yards, the lowest total for a Cardinals rushing leader since 1943. The full statistical picture is preserved on Pro Football Reference.
McBride delivered a historic season in the middle of the chaos. In Week 17 at Cincinnati, he caught his 117th pass to break Zach Ertz’s single-season tight end receptions record of 116. He finished with 126 catches, 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns, earning first-team All-Pro honors and a Pro Bowl nod.
Budda Baker remained the heartbeat of the secondary and earned another Pro Bowl selection. Brissett gave a battered offense stability and showed real command under pressure. Burke and Johnson flashed as rookies, offering a glimpse of the next defensive core. Michael Wilson grew into a dependable target as well. None of it changed the record, but it gave the roster a foundation worth building around.
The numbers tell a stark story. Arizona’s 14 losses set a franchise record, and its .176 winning percentage was the worst since the 1959 Chicago Cardinals. The nine-game losing streak to close the year was another franchise mark.
The fallout came swiftly. Owner Michael Bidwill moved on from Gannon on January 5, 2026, one day after the finale. Gannon finished 15-36 across three seasons. Ossenfort kept his job and helped lead the search, which landed on Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur. The losing also delivered the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Cardinals’ 2025 collapse will be remembered for how close it came and how completely it fell apart. Three walk-off losses in three weeks broke the team’s spirit before October was over. The blowouts that followed only confirmed it. For a franchise that opened September dreaming of January football, this was the year that forced a full reset.
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