The Arizona Cardinals are starting the second year under coach Jonathan Gannon, and their first game of the season looked almost exactly like their first year. This isn’t a good sign.
In their 34-28 loss to the Buffalo Bills on the road, the Cardinals showed a lot of effort in a tough environment and had some exciting moments, but ended up with a loss. Last season, this was somewhat acceptable since it was clear the Cardinals weren’t aiming for a playoff spot.
This year, it’s harder to accept. But the team has to keep moving forward.
“Of course, everybody in the locker room wanted to win that,” Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray said on Sunday. “I felt like we deserved to win that. We should have won. But hey, great game by them.”
Murray’s mature reaction to the loss might be a small positive.
The sixth-year quarterback doesn’t like losing—something that’s not a problem—but in the past, he admitted that a close loss could affect him deeply. On Sunday, he seemed ready to recover.
“Next week we have a divisional opponent,” Murray said about the upcoming game against the Rams. “The next game is the most important.”
Murray and the offense did well in the first half against the Bills, leading 17-3 before going into halftime with a 17-10 lead. However, they struggled more after halftime, and Murray had a costly fumble.
Murray ended the game with 21 completions out of 31 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 57 yards, leading the team in that category.