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Instant Reaction: Cardinals Waste Huge Defensive Day in OT

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Arizona Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett

The Arizona Cardinals nearly gritted out a thrilling overtime victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, but a dominant defensive effort was wasted by an overall poor offensive performance, coming up just short in a 27-24 overtime loss.

The Cardinals’ defense, which had performed poorly in back-to-back weeks, came up with their necessary bounce-back. They terrorized Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars’ offense for nearly the entirety of the game, but Jacoby Brissett and the offense struggled to capitalize on four turnovers.

Such is the nature of this gruesome 2025 season. Complementary football has been nowhere to be found.

But it was a series of truly sickening mistakes that ultimately turned a prime opportunity to climb back into the win column into yet another heartbreaking loss.

Cardinals’ Defense Makes Impact

The Cardinals’ defense, which was generally expected to be the more impactful side of the football coming into this season, had a signature performance for the first time all year. They forced four turnovers off the Jaguars’ offense and came away with three sacks.

After a rough first drive for Nick Rallis’ unit, a strip sack from S Jalen Thompson on the following drive sent the ball in the direction of rookie DL Walter Nolen III, who snagged it with one hand despite still being engaged with a blocker. Nolen rumbled to the end zone for his first career defensive score. He would, unfortunately, later leave the game with an injury, however.

The defensive score would be the first of many impact defensive plays. Arizona sacked Lawrence three times and would force three more turnovers — interceptions by Garrett Williams (in the end zone) Akeem Davis-Gaither and Budda Baker.

That’s the type of effort that’s been expected of this unit. But in a game in which the turnover margin was won 4-0, the Cardinals failed to come through offensively, failing to execute in critical moments.

Cardinals Offense Wastes Opportunities

Despite forcing four turnovers, Arizona’s offense managed just one score off a turnover (not counting Nolen’s defensive touchdown). They struggled to move the ball for the majority of the game until the fourth quarter. A drive that could have extended an Arizona lead to 21-10 going into half ended with an overthrown potential touchdown and a missed field goal.

As the game wound down, the Cardinals’ dominant defense was nearly the culprit of a regulation loss after allowing Lawrence and the Jaguars to drive down the field for a 24-21 lead. Somehow, Arizona recovered, and created an opportunity to win.

But then came a series of baffling offensive occurrences.

The Cardinals went for it on fourth down deep in their own territory despite owning three timeouts and the two-minute warning, turning the ball over on downs. Their defense saved them again, stopping Jacksonville on a similarly-questionable fourth down decision.

Then, Brissett and co. engineered what was nearly a miraculous game-winning touchdown drive, but had to settle for a field goal instead after questionable clock management.

WR Michael Wilson spun the ball in celebration after a big gain, costing valuable seconds. Then, instead of spiking the ball, the Cardinals rushed a play for an incomplete pass, forcing them to settle for a field goal — and overtime.

The game was lost in that moment.

The Cardinals’ defense held the Jaguars to a field goal in overtime, but were stopped on fourth down after Brissett launched a deep ball to Xavier Weaver in double coverage.

The play call was beyond questionable, launching a 50/50 pass to an undersized receiver needing just four yards. But the fact is, Arizona should never have been in that position.

These mistakes fall on coaches and players alike. A well-coached, cohesive offensive group wins this game in regulation, let alone overtime. Put aside the QB questions, the overall operation cost themselves more than one chance to earn a near-walk-off victory. Brissett may not have had his sharpest game, but it was simply a masterclass in late-game mismanagement.

This Cardinals’ offense wasn’t expected to be a heavyweight this season. They were simply expected to get the job done behind their defense. But their inability to execute offensively following the exact defensive windfalls they’ve been needing for weeks is another chapter in a book filled with wasted chances and missed opportunities this season.