Why Arizona Cardinals' Loss to Broncos Isn't Reason to Overreact

The Arizona Cardinals played a sloppy, ugly game. That doesn't mean the season is doomed.

Aug 9, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Clayton Tune (15) against the Kansas City Chiefs during a preseason NFL game at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Arizona Cardinals suffered an ugly loss on Saturday night, falling to the Denver Broncos 27-7 without much in the way of positive highlights.

The NFL preseason is prime time for overreactions, both in positive and negative form. When Arizona took down the reigning AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs in week one, they looked like a team ready to take on the rest of the NFL and deliver a 10-win season.

But on Saturday, that team was gone. Arizona looked disjointed, unprepared and schematically limited.

Here's why all of that isn't reason to harbor much concern for the upcoming regular season.

Why Arizona Cardinals Loss Isn't Reason to Overreact

Aug 16, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; General view of a Arizona Cardinals helmet during the second half against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Cardinals had a long grueling week of joint practice against the Broncos this week.

It was tough in all facets. The Broncos have a good roster and an excellent coaching staff.

Offensively, QB Clayton Tune clearly showed his limitations, and the Cardinals obviously were not running their best plays with him under center.

But when Jacoby Brissett was in the game, it looked smooth, polished, and resulted in points.

Does this mean that Jarrett Stidham should have been carving up Arizona’s defense? No. But at the same time, it’s worth noting that the Cardinals did not trot out any of their starters. 

But what was on display Saturday night wasn’t an example of a lack of talent — it was poor execution.

Aug 16, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) during the second quarter against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

As I’ve written about before, execution will be the deciding factor at the end of the day this season.

There may be some other factors at play, but the overall talent level of Arizona’s starting roster is much higher than it was in previous seasons, particularly in the areas that needed the most work, like the defensive line.

On top of that, Jonathan Gannon admitted to reporters Saturday night defensive coordinator Nick Rallis didn't call plays for Arizona’s defense.

Rallis and Gannon were consistently able to find a way to produce results without having an exceptional talent pool defensively in 2023 and 2024.

So ultimately, looking at Arizona’s poor performance Saturday night, it can be boiled down to an overall lack of execution and a coaching mismatch, with Sean Payton out-scheming whoever did call the Cardinals’ defense.

Both of those things are things that can not only be fixed before the regular season, but also simply shouldn't be the regular-season norm.

In all likelihood, Gannon has already addressed these issues strongly with his team. He’s never given reason to believe he can’t coach his team to bounce back when needed.

Arizona has one more preseason game, and then the real test will start. Remember, the final score in preseason does not matter.