The Arizona Cardinals’ first three weeks have been messy for a lot of reasons, but the most glaring one is easy to spot: they keep beating themselves.
At 1-2, Arizona has already piled up the kind of mistakes that drain drives and tilt games away from you. The biggest issue is discipline, or more accurately, the lack of it.
Through three weeks, the Cardinals are averaging eight penalties per game, which puts them among nine NFL teams at that number. That’s also a jump from last season’s 6.8 per game.
The damage shows up in the yards, too. Arizona is giving away 81.7 penalty yards per game on average, a figure topped only by the Green Bay Packers’ 92.
A lot of those flags are landing before the ball is even snapped. False starts, illegal formation and other pre-snap errors have become too familiar for Arizona, and seven of the team’s 24 penalties through three weeks have come before the play begins.
“Yes, common denominator is it’s us, not them. We have to get it cleaned up and they know that," Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur said on Monday.
LaFleur didn’t soften the message when he got into the details of how those mistakes have piled up in key moments.
“You have to focus in on it. Like I told you guys two weeks ago, sometimes you speak it into existence.
I don’t think we’ve done that. We know it needs to get done.
We’re professionals - coaches and players and we’re in it with them, but that certainly is an aspect that has to get cleaned up because whether it was the pre-snap operation on that fourth drive or the holding on the first and second drive, it killed us," LaFleur added.
"The third drive we got knocked back with the OPI, which I won’t comment any further on that, but it was three penalties that killed us in those first three drives and against a very good team like that it just put us in that hole.”
There’s always some growing pain baked into the early months of a first-year coach installing a new system, and pre-snap issues often come with the territory. But that only explains so much. If Arizona wants any real shot at playing spoiler in 2026, the Cardinals can’t keep handing opponents free yards and burying themselves with avoidable mistakes.
In Other News...
Cardinals Offensive Line Is Raising A Bigger Concern Than Fans Expected
Through the first three games, the Cardinals offensive line has been a mixed bag, and the bigger issue has not been keeping the quarterback clean so much as creating anything reliable on the ground. Pro Football Focus early grades point to a unit that has held up better in pass protection than many expected, but the run blocking has lagged enough to become a real concern as the season settles in.
The offseason reshuffling has left Arizona still trying to find the right combination, with the evaluation of players like Isaac Seumalo, Elijah Wilkinson, Hjalte Froholdt, Isaiah Adams, Jon Gaines and Paris Johnson showing how much the group is still being sorted out. For a team that needs the line to be a strength, the early tape suggests the Cardinals are getting just enough in one phase to mask a problem that could grow if the run game does not catch up. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Suddenly Have A Backfield Question Fans Cant Ignore
The Cardinals loss to the 49ers did more than extend a frustrating streak against NFC West foes. It also put a spotlight on Jeremiyah Love, who drew the start at running back and made the most of the opportunity by handling a heavy workload, logging 56 offensive snaps while producing 109 total yards and two touchdowns.
Mike LaFleur left little doubt that the backfield will remain fluid from here. He said playing time will be shared and that Loves role will be sorted out on a week-by-week basis, a setup that keeps Arizonas running game interesting even as the team tries to steady itself after another division setback. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Defense Is Putting Mike LaFleur In A Tough Spot
The Cardinals early-season defensive slide has turned into one of the first real pressure points of Mike LaFleurs tenure. Arizona has spent the opening weeks near the bottom of the league in expected points added per play and yards allowed per play, numbers that have underscored how often the unit is getting pushed around before it can settle in. LaFleur pointed back to coaching when addressing the issue, saying the fix has to start with clearer teaching and cleaner execution.
For a defense built around Nick Rallis scheme, the concern is not just production but whether the group is playing with enough urgency and precision to make the system work. Tackling has been a recurring issue, and the timing of blitzes has not consistently created the kind of disruption the Cardinals need. The bigger question now is whether Arizona can sharpen the fundamentals and become more aggressive without losing structure, because right now the margin for error is looking awfully thin. [Read more 🡒]