The Arizona Cardinals traveled to Seattle for Week 10, riding the high of their best win of the 2025 season against the Dallas Cowboys, but quickly came back to earth in their blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
The game was over midway through the second quarter as the Seahawks had jumped out to an insurmountable 35-0 lead, and the Cardinals looked like they never stepped off the flight from Arizona.
After the game, coach Jonathan Gannon took full credit for the team’s embarrassing performance. But that’s something fans have heard before during Arizona’s five-game losing streak.
How Did Jonathan Gannon React To the Cardinals’ Blowout Loss?
There was some positive energy around the Cardinals for the first time in six weeks after ending their five-game losing streak last week. However, the Cardinals’ performance on Sunday brought all the critics back.
The Seahawks beat the Cardinals, 44-22, and that’s even closer than the game actually was. The Seahawks defense ranks No. 5 in the NFL, according to PFSN’s Defense Impact, and Seattle’s offense ranks No. 7 in the league, according to PFSN’s Offense Impact.
Both were on full display on Sunday, shutting down the Cardinals. After the game, Gannon took the blame for his team’s putrid performance.
“When that happens and a score looks like that, it falls on a head coach. It sucks for me to say that because that’s where my mind goes,” Gannon said. “I didn’t do enough of what I needed to do throughout the week to get them ready to go. Stings – it’s the truth, it’s the truth, it’s the truth.”
Gannon repeated “it’s the truth” three times at the end when a media member told him he respected the head coach for taking the blame for the loss, and you could hear the disappointment in Gannon’s voice.
The Cardinals’ head coach credited the players for their effort, and the loss was more a matter of preparedness.
“I wouldn’t say sloppiness. I think that we got out-coached and out-played,” Gannon said. “We have to play a lot better versus good teams to have a chance to win games, and we did not do that. At the end of the day, guys, like nothing good from that game. It falls on me. The players are trying. It’s not for a lack of effort. I got to put them in better spots.
“I got to have them ready to do better than what I did today. That’s what it comes down to. That’s what it is.”
However, this isn’t the first time Gannon has said that. Prior to Sunday’s blowout, the Cardinals had been in every game, leading in the fourth quarter for seven out of their eight games.
But the outcome continues to come in the opposing team’s favor.
“Obviously, I didn’t have a good enough plan – all three phases – we just got to look at it,” Gannon said. “We didn’t set it up right.”
When a team loses the way the Cardinals did on Sunday to the Seahawks, it’s not just one or two things that go wrong.
It’s hard to even judge the rest of the game, because after the Seahawks went up 35-0 five minutes into the second quarter, both teams approached the game differently.
The Cardinals have a week to prepare better before Week 11 when they return home to face the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers are coming off a loss to the Rams, and you know coach Kyle Shanahan will have his team ready to rebound.