The Cardinals’ loss in Week 4 calls the franchise direction into question

The Cardinals caused a lot of pain on Sunday. Unfortunately it ended up in the wrong destination.

It landed on us and devastated a fan base in Arizona weaned on a steady diet of moral victories.

A 42-14 loss to the Commanders at State Farm Stadium changes the mood and the stakes.

For the first time in Jonathan Gannon’s tenure as head coach, Valley fans are wondering about the ceiling and direction of Team Try Hard. The Cardinals are 1-3 and have just lost their ability to make you feel good in defeat.

The honeymoon is over. The schedule is getting tougher. Our grief has many layers:

It’s painful to watch Jayden Daniels grow into one of the greatest young quarterbacks in NFL history. We all witnessed his unusual poise and skill when he was a freshman at Arizona State University, only to regress under the tutelage of careless and incompetent hands. Since leaving ASU, he has won a Heisman Trophy and is currently making waves in the NFL. Good for him.

Even worse:

Kliff Kingsbury was once tasked with developing Kyler Murray, the No. 1 overall draft pick and our own Heisman Trophy winner. The results during their celebrated collaboration in Arizona were mixed. Murray shined as an MVP candidate and quickly faded. His only playoff experience under Kingsbury was an epic nightmare. It was clear that the two competitors did not get along.

It was also clear that Kingsbury’s stagnant and stagnant offense was an affront to defensive coordinators in the NFL, and problems are brewing in November. By the end of their relationship, we also knew that Kingsbury was not a good head coach because he lacked the leadership skills and alpha male strength to challenge underperforming players.

But on Sunday, he proved that with the right quarterback, he could be a great offensive coordinator. And seeing Kingsbury demand everything from the Cardinals with a rookie quarterback also strongly suggests that our sixth-year franchise quarterback may not be the answer either. It was a loss that quickly and rightly galvanized Murray’s harshest critics.

“It can’t look like that,” Gannon told reporters of his team’s overall performance.

It’s not just Murray. The Cardinals didn’t put any pressure on Daniels because they are largely underfunded and are currently skimping on pass rushers, pass defenders and depth on the offensive line. These defects can be attributed to the owner Michael Bidwill and the managing director Monti Ossenfort. But you would never expect the Cardinals to have to contend with the Commanders’ woeful defense, which was among the worst in the NFL entering the game.

The result shattered the faith of those who thought 2024 was Murray’s time for revenge, redemption and redemption. And it led to uncomfortable conclusions that Murray’s best might not be good enough for an NFL team with real ambition.

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