Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon looks on from the sidelines during their game against the Carolina Panthers at State Farm Stadium on Sept 14, 2025. Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Former NFL QB: Cardinals Lost Thanks to 'Idiotic' Rule

Originally posted on Arizona Cardinals on SI
By Donnie Druin | Last updated Sep 27, 2025 6:07 PM ET

The Arizona Cardinals' defense wasn't able to hold strong on their final stand, as the Seattle Seahawks marched quickly down into field goal position to ultimately setup a game-winning kick on Thursday Night Football.

Much of the conversation around the final drive, both locally and nationally, was fixated on Seattle's starting field position of the 40-yard line thanks to Chad Ryland's kickoff landing short of the target zone on the prior kickoff.

It was a kick - and a rule - that lost them the game, according to former NFL QB Chase Daniel.

Video below:

"The new kicking rules are AWFUL. They lost that game because of a half of a yard not landing in the landing zone."

Chase Daniel didn't hold back @heykayadams | @ChaseDaniel pic.twitter.com/6JbyDHFoOI
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) September 26, 2025

The new kickoff rules are still seeing an adjustment from everybody in the league as teams try to find the best ways to navigate the risks and rewards of various plays.

“Keep it in play. That's kind of one of the things we talk about late in the game there with the amount of timeouts and time and what they needed, we were trying to burn off some time there. (K) Chad (Ryland) played his ass off. The game doesn't come down to one play. We didn't do enough collectively for 60 minutes to win the game," Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon said following the game.

When meeting with reporters the following day, Gannon expanded on the kickoff.

"The rules are kind of the rules. We were saying it's going to be interesting to see through seven, eight weeks what those numbers look like because that plays into what you're doing. I thought we played well on kickoff all day, kind of just mis-hit that one. It's the difference of a yard and a half, you know. ...

"We look at all that. And there's decisions that I made last night that you look at it, and some of them worked and some of them didn't work from a game management standpoint. I always try to look at those critically. And sometimes when things work, you're not off the hook. And some things, when they don't work, you still think it's the right decision. That's the chair that I'm in, and that's okay.

"But what I try to stress with our players and our coaches - let's make sure we're continuing to try to do the right things to put our team in position to win."

The game doesn't boil down to one play, though many in the desert may feel inclined to agree with Daniel.