Through five weeks of agonizing losses, the Arizona Cardinals finally emerged victorious on Monday night.
Following an unprecedented string of nail-biting defeats, the Cardinals ended their NFL-long five-game losing streak with a Jacoby Brissett-fueled 27-17 win over the Dallas Cowboys.
Brissett, starting his third straight game in place of an injured Kyler Murray, had three total touchdowns, throwing for two and 261 yards on 21-of-31 passing and sneaking in for another six. The veteran quarterback piloted five scoring drives, including back-to-back 74-yard marches -- the longest scoring drives of the season for the Arizona offense.
"That's what we do it for. It's hard to win in the NFL," Brissett said of earning the victory at Dallas. "It's harder to win on the road. It's hard when things aren't going your way and the outside noise drags you other places and stuff like that. It's hard to come back in that locker room and put one foot in front of the other. But the men in that room, the coaches, the support staff, it's just all we preach, is put one foot in front of the other, one day at a time. When you don't look for the results, the results find themselves, and you've just got to rely on the work."
Despite Brissett's performance Monday and the two preceding it, Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon remained steadfast that Murray will be his starter whenever he returns from a foot injury, perhaps on Sunday against the first-place Seattle Seahawks.
"Yeah, nothing's changed," Gannon said.
Pressed further on the issue, Gannon shut down the conversation.
"I got nothing to add on that, guys," he said.
Over Brissett's three starts, the offense has drastically improved in production, averaging 25.7 points per game and 256.3 passing yards compared to 18.8 and 170.2 with Murray.
On Monday, second-year wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. had a career-best seven catches for 96 yards and a touchdown.
"Put his pads on. Showed up," Brissett said when asked to explain what MHJ did to create opportunities. "I mean once he got off the bus I knew he was gonna be open. We knew we were gonna get our chances outside. This has been building for him and it's still a step in the right direction. You saw it in his eyes when he got off the bus. And we were in the locker room, and coach told me what the first couple plays were and he was like, 'We're gonna switch it up and we're going to do this for Marv.' I'm like, alright, and I think I threw it to him four times in a row on the first drive, and I was like I think I'm gonna do this the whole game if they keep doing it. Just super happy for him. I know he wants a couple more, and I do, too. There's a couple things that I wanted to get to him. But just super happy for him."
Standout Trey McBride notched a touchdown for the third straight contest, a feat not seen by a Cardinals tight end since 1987 (Rob Awalt). In just three games with Brissett at the helm, McBride has four TDs. In 39 with Murray, he has five.
"I though he played well," Gannon said of Brissett. "I thought he operated."
Cardinals offense in 2025 by starting QB
| Kyler Murray | Jacoby Brissett | |
|---|---|---|
| Offensive PPG | 18.8 | 25.7 |
| Passing YPG | 170.2 | 256.3 |
| Third-down percentage | 39.7 | 56.1 |
| Offensive giveaways per game | 1.2 | 0.7 |
| Three-and-out percentage | 30.0 | 13.8 |
Murray was injured during the Cardinals' infamous collapse against the Tennessee Titans, a 22-21 loss in Week 5. It was the midpoint of a losing stretch in which the Cardinals' losses were by a combined 13 points, tying the 2017 San Francisco 49ers for the closest margin during a five-game losing streak in NFL history.
After starting the season 2-0, the Cardinals lost five games by one score each time with their opponent taking the lead with less than five minutes to play. Through Weeks 3-5, the Cardinals found an otherworldly way to lose in heartbreaking fashion, with defeats against the 49ers, Seattle Seahawks and Titans all coming via field goals with no time left. Then came back-to-back setbacks against the Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers in which they allowed go-ahead touchdowns with 4:32 and 1:50 left, respectively.
On Monday, Arizona began the fourth quarter with a 17-point lead.
Then Dak Prescott hit Ryan Flournoy, and all of a sudden Arizona's lead was 27-17.
It sparked a closer-than-it-needed-to-be conclusion to the night. But this time around, Brissett and the birds prevailed.
"You can't say enough good things about what Jacoby's doing right now," Cardinals defensive end Calais Campbell told NFL Network's Omar Ruiz. "He's playing so good for us. He locks in, he's just doing what's required. You lose your starting quarterback, it's hard in the NFL to win ballgames. But for Jacoby to step in there and we don't miss a beat, it's been great for us. He's been incredible."
For the journeyman signal-caller, the win ended an individual losing streak of six consecutive starts, as he earned his first QB victory since Week 1 of last season with the New England Patriots. He wouldn't get into any decision-making as it relates to the starting spot.
"I don't get into that stuff," Brissett said. "I'm just trying to go out here, win games, be a good teammate and do the best that I can when I get my opportunity. It's all I can ask for."
Furthermore, Brissett didn't even sell himself as being a catalyst behind Monday's win. Then again, one could argue, that's exactly the sentiment a leader would convey.
"I don't think it's me. I really don't," he said. "Everybody gets caught up in the beginning of the season and if everything's not going well. The good teams in this league find ways to continue to get better, and that's what we're doing at this point in the season, just finding ways to continue to get better. You tweak things, you go back to the drawing board. We're going to go back after this game and say we should've done this better, that better, that better, and I think that's what we're doing a good job of. I really don't think it's me. I just think it's over time and through the season, we'll continue to get better."
