3 Brutal Takeaways From Cardinals’ 2025 Season Finale Loss vs Rams

The Arizona Cardinals' season is done -- here's what we learned from their final game.

Jan 4, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon on the sidelines against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

And with that, the 2025 season is over for the Arizona Cardinals.

It wasn’t what anyone expected it to be in the worst way possible, as a 37-10 loss in Week 18 to the Los Angeles Rams wrapped up a 3-14 season.

By winning percentage, it was the worst season since 1959, when the Chicago Cardinals went 2-10, as 2025 finishes as one of the worst campaigns in franchise history. A 2-0 start was wasted, with Arizona going 1-14 in its final 15 games, including nine straight losses to finish the season.

In the season finale, the Cardinals totaled 317 yards to the Rams’ 395, with Jacoby Brissett throwing for 243 yards on 22-of-31 passing. Michael Wilson and Trey McBride looked good once again, but other than those two silver linings on offense, not much went right yet again.

Arizona passed the ball more than twice as often as it ran, which has become almost customary of late. Without a running game, the offense could only do so much, while the Cardinals’ defense allowed more than 25 points for the eighth time in its final nine games.

The nightmare that was this season is over, and for the final time until the 2026 preseason begins in August, here’s what we learned from a Cardinals football game.

Losing this one was to the Cardinals’ benefit

Jan 4, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) talk following a game at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The objective of playing football is to win, but it was obvious that it was advantageous for Arizona to wrap up the season with another defeat. At 3-14, the Cardinals will receive the No. 3 pick in the NFL draft, as tiebreakers have them selecting ahead of the Titans, who also finished 3-14.

This gives the Cardinals a few different possibilities in how they approach the draft, but at the very least, losing to the Rams is preferable to winning and holding the No. 5 pick. No one is suggesting the Cardinals intentionally lost, but everything worked out in terms of the franchise’s future.

It took nine straight losses to get there, but the Cardinals will be picking inside the top four for the third time in the last four seasons, as general manager Monti Ossenfort has another important draft selection ahead of him.

Because of such a poor season, this team has a lot of needs. Quarterback is a glaring one — which we’ll get to later — but there are several other necessities that could be addressed in the draft.

And with the Cardinals losing, it means they’ll receive a better first-round selection. Falling short against a division rival is never easy, but in this case, Arizona’s front office was likely thankful their team was defeated in Los Angeles.

MORE: Cardinals’ Rough Season Ends With Crushing Loss to Rams

Arizona was embarrassed in an NFC West it was supposed to contend for

Jan 4, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) is sacked Arizona Cardinals linebacker Josh Sweat (10) during the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The NFC West included teams that finished 14-3, 12-5 and 12-5, with the lowly Cardinals finishing in the cellar at 3-14. It became the first division in NFL history to feature three 12-win teams, and if that had been said at the beginning of the season, many would have assumed Arizona could have been one of them.

With an offense that was supposed to be one of the league’s best and a defense that had a lot of promising pieces, the 2025 season was expected to be a chance at the Cardinals’ first division title in 10 years.

That couldn’t have been further from the case, as Arizona went 0-6 against divisional opponents, bringing Jonathan Gannon’s record against the NFC West to 3-15 in his three seasons as head coach.

For the third time in the last four seasons — and two of three times with Gannon leading the team — the Cardinals finished last in the NFC West. They’ve become the doormat of the division, and Gannon hasn’t come close to figuring out how to beat his rivals.

This latest defeat was ugly, but that has become the norm for the Cardinals in recent seasons. Even though the loss was helpful in terms of draft position, it only added to the frustration Arizona has faced when playing the 49ers, Rams or Seahawks.

RELATED: Jonathan Gannon Hints at 'Significant' Change for Cardinals in 2026

If Gannon stays, the Cardinals can’t draft a quarterback

Jan 4, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon stands on the sidelines against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Following a 3-14 season, Gannon is clearly on the hot seat, but his future appears to be trending in the right direction. If he remains, drafting a quarterback would be discussed, but it would be the wrong decision moving forward.

We’ve seen it time and time again in the NFL — keeping a failing head coach and then drafting a quarterback rarely works out. Often, the coach is fired before the young quarterback develops, so why wait a year to start that progression?

If Arizona is set on taking a quarterback, Gannon should go. If owner Michael Bidwill is confident in keeping Gannon, the Cardinals should either run it back with Brissett or sign another veteran quarterback.

The Cardinals either need a total reset or to hold steady in hopes that the team can acquire talent elsewhere or finish poorly enough to take a quarterback in next year’s draft. A half-measure rebuild won’t work, and Arizona shouldn’t attempt one here.

It’s been apparent all season, but the Week 18 loss to the Rams gave Bidwill one final opportunity to evaluate Gannon’s future. While Brissett passed the ball effectively, Arizona’s issues won’t magically be fixed by a new quarterback, but they could be solved with a true reset that involves cleaning house.

The decision will come soon, as the Cardinals closed another disappointing season — one that feels especially dejecting for a franchise that continues to struggle to find answers.