Cardinals See Themselves in Rebuilding Patriots

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals are set to host the New England Patriots in Week 15, and it might be a bit like looking in the past for the home team.

The Cardinals are in the second year of their rebuild under head coach Jonathan Gannon and general manager Monti Ossenfort, a season that's seen overall improvement from 2023 despite the roller coaster ride.

New England - with rookie quarterback Drake Maye and head coach Jerod Mayo - find themselves in a similar position to Arizona's iteration last season.

The Cardinals see it.

“It's tough. The tough part is just understanding the opportunity that we had. It kind of felt like we didn't give them our best at all in either opportunity that we had to play against them. Not only that, (but) the implications that were part of the game. We weren't thinking about that, but we understood what was at stake," quarterback Kyler Murray said ahead on losing last week.

"To let it go and not play our best, that was the tough part. It stings (and) hurts, but we have to get over it and put all the energy into New England coming in here on Sunday. Last year we were kind of in a similar situation as them, then went on the road to Pittsburgh, Philly and (won). They're going to come in here and play hard. We understand that and we have to be ready to go.”

The Patriots are just 3-10 on the season entering State Farm Stadium but have played teams tough all throughout the season, a similar sentiment those had of the Cardinals in Gannon's first season in charge.

Led by a defensive head coach, the Patriots utilize their rushing attack often and heavily use multiple tight ends throughout their game plan.

Sound familiar?

"I do, I told them. I told the team that," said Gannon on the comparison's between the two sides. Five of New England's losses have come in one score games - the same amount Arizona had in 2023.

"What I see is exactly what you just said: This is a well-coached team. They got some good coaches over there. They're well coached. They play extremely hard. And when typically, those two things are right, you're going to have a chance to win a lot of games - which they've had. So the records to me really don't mean anything.

"We got to take care of business, play our brand of ball, execute at a high level every play if we're going to give ourselves a chance to win a game, point blank. It doesn't matter if you're playing a 10-3 team or a 3-10 team, that's what it is. That's the NFL. I always believe this too, like you are what your record is, the best teams and the worst teams, I would argue they're not that far off. It's not that far off - it is, but it's really not.

"So the record says it is, but the tape, typically [shows] it's not that far. So that's kind of a reminder to everybody: you got to line up and play. There are no cakewalks in the NFL. Every team can beat every team. So, we got to play our brand of ball to have a chance to win."

The Cardinals won't be taking New England for granted when the two sides step on the field - but perhaps it will feel like they're looking in a mirror at a past version of themselves.