Aug 9, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon looks on against the Kansas City Chiefs during the second half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Arizona Cardinals Defense Named Biggest Preseason Losers

Originally posted on Arizona Cardinals on SI
By Donnie Druin | Last updated Aug 19, 2025 1:56 PM ET

The Arizona Cardinals clearly weren't winners from their preseason Week 2 beatdown from the Denver Broncos.

That's not exactly groundbreaking analysis following their 27-7 loss to the Broncos over the weekend, at least in the mind of head coach Jonathan Gannon:

"We got outplayed tonight, that was obvious by the score," Gannon said after the game.

"Where I really thought that we need to do a lot better job is our fundamentals from really all three phases. So the basic fundamentals of football, I think they did a lot better than us today. We lose the explosive play battle in the first half, I think it was ten to two. Tough way to go so a lot to learn from. We'll have a good week, and we'll get another opportunity on Saturday night."

Bleacher Report would also agree, calling the Cardinals' defense particularly one of the biggest losers of preseason Week 2 action:

Arizona Cardinals Defense Biggest Losers

"We’ll just let the numbers speak for themselves here," wrote Kristopher Knox.

"Against Arizona, Broncos backup Jarrett Stidham was 16-of-23 for 240 yards and a pair of touchdowns with a passer rating of 132.5. On the ground, Denver averaged 7.5 yards per carry.

"As a team, Denver amassed 323 yards of offense. Had 16 first downs. Peeled off 11 plays of 10 yards or more. And that all came before halftime. Yes, the Cardinals rested their defensive starters. But it’s not like Denver trotted out its first team against them. This was scrub-on-scrub, and the Broncos completely dominated the first 30 minutes.

"For a defensive-minded head coach like Jonathan Gannon? There will be gassers coming. And yelling. Lots of yelling."

There's certainly room for improvement - though Gannon consistently highlighted explosive plays as the main culprit of defeat on the defensive side of the ball:

"We got annihilated in the explosive play battle, which is the reason you lose by 20. We have to do a better job consistently playing with the right technique and getting on the right people with the right leverage," he said Monday.

"That's, that's what I would say from the back end. That's not just the corners. It's not just the safeties, nickels, linebackers, just collectively as a whole, everybody [needs to improve]. Because we show flashes and it's good, like in the Denver practice or even in the game - and then when it's not you get beat. So we got to do a better job of that."

The Cardinals look to rebound in their preseason finale against the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday, where Arizona still is unsure if starters will play.

This article first appeared on Arizona Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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