After two weeks, the NFC is already turning into a mess to sort out, and the bottom of the conference is where that chaos shows up first. The Atlanta Falcons sit at 0-2 and bring up the rear in these Week 3 rankings, while the Arizona Cardinals are hanging at 1-1 after a week-to-week swing that says plenty about how hard it is to trust early-season results.
Atlanta may be last, but there’s at least a chance the picture changes soon. Michael Penix Jr. is expected back in the lineup in Week 3 against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night, and that should be a welcome shift after what the Falcons have gotten from Cooper Rush and even Jack Strand.
Still, the situation around the team is rough. James Pearce Jr. is suspended, Jalon Walker is out for the season, and the Falcons are trying to patch together answers on both sides of the ball.
What looked like a possible NFC South rise in the offseason has been swallowed up by quarterback issues and a pile of other problems. It hasn’t been the easiest start for Kevin Stefanski, and Penix’s first game back comes on a short week against Green Bay.
Arizona’s story has gone the other way. The Cardinals opened the season with a win over the Los Angeles Chargers that felt earned, not fluky.
Jacoby Brissett played well, the defense showed up, and Arizona handled the situational side of the game. That made the Week 2 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks feel like a possible opportunity, especially with Drew Lock starting for the injured Sam Darnold.
Instead, the Cardinals were blown out 31-7 by Jaxon Smith-Njigba and the Seahawks, a result that looked a lot more like the version of Arizona people expected before the season began. The high from Week 1 didn’t last long, and now the Cardinals have to try to bounce back on the road against the San Francisco 49ers.
Yikes.
In Other News...
Cardinals Blowout Loss Raised A Familiar Problem Fans Keep Seeing
A week after opening with a win over the Chargers, the Cardinals were brought back to earth in a 31-7 loss to the Seahawks that exposed some familiar issues on offense. Head coach Mike LaFleur pointed to the lack of execution after halftime, and the game followed a pattern Arizona fans know well: when drives stall, the other side starts controlling the pace and the margin can grow quickly.
Seattles offense took full advantage, with Jaxon Smith-Njigba turning in a big day that kept Arizona on its heels. The Cardinals also had to watch their defense spend too much time on the field, which only made the second-half slide harder to stop, and it leaves the team searching for cleaner play as the early-season momentum from Week 1 starts to fade. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Quarterback Situation Is Turning Into A Real Deadline Dilemma
Jacoby Brissett has settled in as the Cardinals starter for now, but the quarterback room already looks like one of the more interesting pressure points on the roster. Gardner Minshew is in the mix behind him, and rookie Carson Beck is still working from the third spot as he comes back from injury and tries to climb the depth chart.
The bigger issue is what happens if Arizonas season starts to drift. There is already speculation that a quarterback change could be on the table in 2026 if the team underperforms, and Brissett or Minshew could become trade candidates near the NFL trade deadline if the Cardinals decide to pivot. For a team still evaluating Beck and trying to figure out its long-term answer, this situation could get complicated quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Need Their Biggest Names To Change This Season Fast
The Cardinals have opened 1-1 under Mike LaFleur, and the early returns already feel like a mix of promise and unfinished business. A win over the Chargers showed the ceiling of the roster, while the halftime tie against the Seahawks hinted at a team that can hang with quality opponents even as injuries keep testing its depth and forcing changes to the plan.
Arizona has gotten useful production from parts of the lineup, but several of its biggest names still have not provided the kind of steady impact this team needs to settle in. With the injuries piling up and the margin for error already thin, the Cardinals are at the point where their top players have to start driving games fast if this start is going to mean more than a decent opening snapshot. [Read more 🡒]