Cardinals Reeling After Texans Loss, But Gannon Preaches Resilience Amid Adversity
GLENDALE - The Arizona Cardinals' Week 15 matchup against the Houston Texans wasn’t just a loss - it was a gut punch. From the opening whistle, the Cardinals were outplayed in nearly every phase.
They lost the turnover battle, were outgained in total yards, and failed to generate much of anything on either side of the ball. The scoreboard might not have told the full story, but the tape certainly did: Arizona got dominated.
There was one silver lining, if you’re into that kind of thing - the Cardinals’ 2026 draft positioning improved slightly, moving from the eighth to the sixth spot. But head coach Jonathan Gannon made it clear on Monday that he isn’t interested in silver linings. He’s focused on the here and now, and right now, he and his team are frustrated.
“I’m not happy and they’re not happy,” Gannon said bluntly when speaking to reporters.
You could hear the frustration in his voice. This isn’t just about a bad game - it’s about a season that’s gone sideways in more ways than one.
At 3-11, the Cardinals are staring down the possibility of matching or even surpassing the franchise record for most losses in a single season. And while some fans may quietly welcome that outcome for the sake of a higher draft pick, Gannon isn’t wired that way.
He wants to see his team keep swinging.
And to his credit, they haven’t quit. Yes, the record is brutal.
But seven of those 11 losses have come by a single score. That’s not to say moral victories count in the standings - they don’t - but it does paint a picture of a team that’s been competitive more often than not, even if the final result hasn’t gone their way.
Still, close losses can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, they suggest a team that’s not far off.
On the other, they can be maddening - a sign of missed opportunities, poor execution in crunch time, or simply not having enough talent to finish games. For general manager Monti Ossenfort and team ownership, the question becomes: are these Cardinals a scrappy group on the cusp of turning the corner, or are they just snakebitten and in need of a major overhaul?
That’s a question for the offseason. In the present, Gannon is leaning on his locker room leaders to help guide the team through the rough waters. He’s banking on adversity being a teacher - the kind that forges toughness, character, and, eventually, success.
This is the second time this season Arizona has endured a losing streak of five or more games. Injuries have piled up.
So have mistakes. But Gannon’s message hasn’t changed: keep fighting.
For now, that’s the identity he wants this team to embrace - not one defined by the standings, but by how they respond when things go sideways.
Whether Gannon will be the one leading the charge when this team finally turns the corner remains to be seen. But if there’s one thing he’s made clear, it’s that he’s not going to let this group go quietly.
The road ahead doesn’t get any easier, but for a team trying to build something from the ground up, these final few games still matter - maybe not in the standings, but in the culture being built behind closed doors.