THE STORY: Every coach hates to lose.
As much as Sunday's 30-16 defeat to the Broncos stung for the Cardinals, the final score was just one of the things that was eating at Mike LaFleur postgame.
"You hate losing, but I hate playing not good football more than I hate losing because good football usually can lead to wins unless they just make so many plays," LaFleur said. "I know we can play better than that."
On what was a celebratory day for Cardinals legend Larry Fitzgerald, who was inducted in the Ring of Honor at halftime, the Broncos spoiled the afternoon at State Farm Stadium.
The Broncos (5-2) did make plays, including multiple explosives. Defensively, the Cardinals (2-5) did not make nearly enough stops. Quarterback Bo Nix had a 62-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter, and on the first drive in the third quarter, the Broncos quarterback found RJ Harvey on a screen pass which resulted in a 52-yard touchdown.
"There's a lot of stuff we can clean up as a unit," cornerback Denzel Burke said. "When you play a good football team like that, you can't make mistakes. We need to be on the details and play better ball."
Offensively, the red zone and goal-to-go opportunities continued to haunt the team. Over the last two games, the Cardinals are 1-for-10 in the red zone. Trey McBride's third quarter touchdown was the exception.
"It wasn't an issue until seven days ago, and now it's an issue," LaFleur said. "We can clean that up. ... It's all so correctable stuff. But until we do it, it's just words."
The Cardinals tried staying in the battle, led by big-time catches from Michael Wilson and McBride. McBride had 10 receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown and on a day where the greatest receiver in franchise history was honored, Wilson made a 50-50 grab in the third quarter of which the legend would've been proud.
But the Broncos defensive front proved to be too much for the Cardinals banged up offensive line. Jacoby Brissett – who finished 27-for-48 for 272 yards – did not have much time in the pocket and was under pressure throughout the afternoon. Brissett was sacked three times and was hit 13 times.
To the veteran, that's just football.
"It's time, snap, and down, and that's all you get," Brissett said. "Guys are obviously looking at me to not overreact and more so stay level-headed and make sure that the guys know I'm ready to steer the ship."
There were things that will keep LaFleur up when he watches the film, especially the nine penalties called against the Cardinals.
But LaFleur continued to back his players. Brissett will remain the starting quarterback going forward. There's also a belief that the Cardinals will be able to turn it around. When asked how close they might be to doing so, LaFleur didn't get into the specifics.
But it won't be accomplished unless it's done collectively.
"I like the humans. I like the men in that locker room," LaFleur said. "We need to get right back to work. We have a great opportunity next week to play good football. I want the same energy out of this group that I saw last Monday after we got a 'W' in LA on Sunday."
STANDOUTS: McBride celebrated National Tight Ends Day appropriately. It was the ninth time in his career that he had 100-plus receiving yards. Darius Robinson picked up his second sack of the season. It's a career-high for the 2024 first-round pick.
TURNING POINT: With six seconds left in the third quarter and the ball inside the Arizona 10, Nix tried to connect with Cortland Sutton on a fade in the corner of the end zone. On what looked like great coverage, the officials called a defensive pass interference on Burke. It felt like the air was taken out of the stadium. The Broncos scored on a J.K. Dobbins run on the next play to take a 27-13 lead.
INJURY UPDATE: Cornerback Kalen King had a brief visit to the medical tent in the fourth quarter and then returned to the sidelines.
