The Arizona Cardinals suffered a narrow 22-21 defeat to the Tennessee Titans at State Farm Stadium on Sunday, marking their third consecutive loss by a field goal on the game’s final play. The Cardinals, now 2-3 for the season, started strong with a 21-6 lead and standout plays including Marvin Harrison Jr.’s 43-yard catch. However, critical turnovers and missed opportunities allowed the Titans (1-4) to come back.
Left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. addressed the media after the game, emphasizing recurring issues: “Finish, finish, finish,” Johnson said. “At the end of the day, why do we have to be close? That’s the thing we are allowing to happen.”
A key moment came when running back Emari Demercado appeared to score a game-clinching touchdown but lost control of the ball just before crossing into the end zone. The play was ruled a touchback in favor of Tennessee. Later, Rabbit Taylor-Demerson intercepted a pass in the red zone but fumbled during his return; Tennessee recovered in their own end zone.
“I don’t know what to think about that,” quarterback Kyler Murray said. “That was ‘How to lose a game 101.’ That was crazy.” Murray described this loss as potentially “number one” among tough defeats in his career.
Head coach Jonathan Gannon accepted responsibility for another late-game collapse: “That’s three games in a row where I am saying the same thing,” Gannon said. “I’ve got to go back to my drawing board.”
Despite outgaining previous performances with 361 total yards and scoring touchdowns on three of four red-zone trips, penalties hampered Arizona’s efforts—such as a holding call that negated Trey McBride’s long reception.
Guard Will Hernandez returned after missing last season and played through four series during which Arizona scored all its touchdowns before being replaced by Jon Gaines II due to limited snaps. The Cardinals also achieved their best rushing output of the season with 169 yards.
“We have spurts in the game (when) we can do whatever we want,” Gannon said.
On their final possession while leading by two points, Arizona failed to secure another first down after three short runs and had to punt away possession.
“I understand what we were trying to do there but we just have to look, did we give them the best chance to get a first down there?” Gannon stated regarding late-game decisions. He added: “(Offensive coordinator) Drew (Petzing) obviously is calling the game, but I know what he’s calling.”
Gannon stressed that Demercado’s turnover was not solely responsible for the outcome: “The clock is ticking,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you are a number one overall pick, a Pro Bowl safety a third-year head coach, a first-year assistant. It doesn’t matter.”
Johnson echoed optimism despite recent setbacks: “The goal right now is to not let this deflate the energy,” Johnson said. “This is Week 5, we have 12 games to go. The story of the Cardinals is not done yet.”
Among individual performances, Harrison finished with four catches for 98 yards—his best this season—and Josh Sweat recorded two sacks for five on the year.
Injuries affected several players: tight end Tip Reiman left with an ankle injury requiring bracing; rookie linebacker Cody Simon exited early due to knee trouble; Murray briefly left with a foot issue but returned quickly and commented only that “we’ll see” regarding his status going forward.
