The Arizona Cardinals left Green Bay with a 42-38 loss, and the final 20 seconds belonged to the Packers, who grabbed the lead late and gave Matt LaFleur bragging rights over his younger brother Mike.
Even with the starters sitting, there was plenty to sort through from a game that came down to the wire. And the biggest takeaway was easy to spot: Arizona’s offense looks a lot different than it did before.
The Cardinals rolled up 323 yards in the first half and finished with 492 net yards, a sign that the unit is humming no matter who is lining up at quarterback. LaFleur has clearly done strong work with this group, and the depth has shown up in these preseason games.
Arizona has gone over its projected point total in every preseason matchup, with the run game opening lanes and quarterbacks 1-4 on the depth chart making plays. Gardner Minshew and Kedon Slovis kept that trend going in Green Bay.
Against a Packers defense coached by former head coach Jonathan Gannon, it was hard not to come away encouraged by how sharp the Cardinals looked on offense. And that was before factoring in how much better it might look once the starters are actually in the mix.
The flip side was protection. Minshew and Slovis were under heat all night, and while the backups in front of them won’t tell the whole story for the regular season, the issues were still obvious.
Arizona was without its top backup, Chase Bisontis, and interior lineman Jon Gaines did not play. Even so, Slovis in particular took the brunt of the pressure, absorbing three sacks and 10 quarterback hits while dealing with tipped passes and long stretches where Green Bay kept collapsing the pocket.
For a team that also had a strong rushing night, that’s still not a great look.
Then came the special teams disaster.
Arizona allowed what might have been one of the easiest punt returns in recent NFL memory, as Will Sheppard took one back 81 yards for a touchdown. Players slipped, lost their spots and took poor angles, turning the play into a rough clinic on what not to do in punt coverage. Sheppard blew past three Cardinals defenders right away and was never seriously challenged on the way to the end zone.
Special teams can disappear for long stretches. Then one play like that changes everything. It flipped momentum, added points and gave new special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial plenty to hammer home in the film room.
In Other News...
Cardinals Preseason Finale Exposed A Problem Fans Wont Ignore
The Cardinals wrapped up their preseason with a 42-38 loss to the Packers in a game that had plenty of offensive fireworks and just as much late-game frustration. Arizona piled up 492 yards and still carried an 11-point lead deep into the fourth quarter, with Simi Fehoko and Evan Hull both finding the end zone as the offense showed it could move the ball in chunks.
But the final minutes brought the kind of finish fans remember more than the early highlights. Packers quarterback Kyle McCord threw four touchdown passes, including two late strikes, and Will Sheppard added a punt return touchdown as Green Bay flipped the script and escaped with the win, leaving Arizona with one last reminder that preseason production does not always match preseason closing time. [Read more 🡒]
Josh Sweat Trade Buzz Puts Cardinals Pass Rush In The Spotlight
Trade buzz followed Josh Sweat into the Cardinals joint work with the Packers and kept hanging over Arizonas preseason finale, even as the edge rusher was just getting back into the mix after missing offseason activities with a knee issue. The timing has only added to the intrigue around a pass rush group that the Cardinals want to evaluate fully before the regular season, especially with Sweat now back on the field and trying to reestablish his place in the rotation.
For teams calling around, the answer from Arizona has reportedly been the same: Sweat is not being moved right now. The Cardinals have already signaled through their general manager that they are not trading him, which makes the situation less about a deal getting done and more about whether the team can keep its pass-rush depth intact while the outside attention keeps building. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Already Face An Awkward Draft Question As Cuts Begin
Training camp cuts are already forcing the Cardinals into some uncomfortable roster math, and Christian Jones is the latest reminder of how quickly a draft pick can lose his footing. The team waived the offensive tackle, a 2024 fifth-round selection who has played in four games over two seasons and spent most of camp buried as a third- or fourth-string option.
Jones now goes through waivers, and Arizona will be watching to see whether another club takes a shot or whether he clears and becomes a possible practice-squad option again. For a team trying to settle its offensive line depth before the season, it is an early test of how much patience the Cardinals want to keep showing with a pick that has yet to carve out a real role. [Read more 🡒]