DALLAS -- Before the bye week, coach Jonathan Gannon was asked if he would share his past experiences with the team.
In 2018 and in 2021, Gannon was a part of teams that held a 2-5 record and managed to make the playoffs. Was there a specific reason they turned it around? Is each year different? What can the Cardinals do to have a similar fate?
When the team returned, Gannon went down memory lane.
"Everybody in that locker room has been in some different spots, and that's not deflect or give them hope or anything like that," Gannon said. "They know they're pro football players. They want to play well and win games. We're in a little bit of a hole, but that's in the past. You can't control that now. What you can control is today."
Gannon's words resonated throughout the locker room, in part because multiple players have been on similar rides. Jacoby Brissett was on that 2018 Colts team that began the year with a 1-5 record and won nine of their remaining 10 games.
Josh Sweat was in Philadelphia with Gannon and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis in 2021 when the Eagles started the year 2-5. They finished the regular season with a 9-8 record before falling in the playoffs. Sweat had 7.5 sacks and made it to the Pro Bowl that year.
The biggest difference, in Sweat's eyes, is how the Cardinals have lost.
"We aren't really just losing losing, and that's part of why it's so much harder," Sweat said, alluding to the Cardinals five defeats coming by a combined total of 13 points.. "We just need to turn it around and we're just trying to pinpoint exactly what we can do so we can try to get better at everything."
Wide receiver Zay Jones went through something similar in 2022 in Jacksonville. The Jaguars were 3-7 entering their Week 11 bye. Coming out of it, they won six of their last seven and earned a playoff berth.
That season, the losses during their five-game losing streak all were one-possession games.
"Some of the breaks started going our way and teams that may have started off hot and looked like powerhouses began to get exposed and we began to create an identity and rhythm of who we were," Jones said. "I think those are the main ingredients that helped us put us in position."
Jones said that year he leaned on the veterans in the building. A few years later, he has assumed that leadership role.
"The beautiful thing about where we're sitting at is I don't feel a desperation which might have been different at other places," Jones said. "We need to clean a few things up, and as the coaches coined the term, 'find our margins.' I think that's a really beautiful way to explain that."
Sweat added that "Monday Night Football" against the Cowboys provides a platform for the Cardinals to turn it around. It's also a venue he's grown familiar playing at during his time in the NFC East.
"Playing against Dallas, it's always going to be a massive atmosphere, massive everything," Sweat said. "(When) you make something happen, you know."
If the Cardinals win, it'd be an incredible way to respond to the team's struggles when coming off a bye.
But the reflection is one of the reasons why Gannon has felt convicted in his team's response to the 2-5 start.
"You stick with what you're doing if you think that's right," Gannon said. "There's different experiences and every team's a little bit different. I think the main thing for us is you can't look into the future. You can't look back now. We are where we are. We've got to do everything that we need to do to try and win the game. That's our sole focus."
CAMPBELL ILL
The Cardinals added defensive lineman Calais Campbell to the injury report on Sunday because of an illness. But Campbell was not given a game status, indicating he will be available to play against the Cowboys.
