Dennis Gardeck acknowledged he was sore as he sat down in front of the media on Monday, a day after the Cardinals dropped a difficult 20-13 game to the Lions.
"It was exactly what we knew," the linebacker said. "It was going to be a physical fight. I'm proud of the way we fought."
Players in the locker room postgame were certainly feeling the pain, not only of the loss but the battle on the field. That hadn't gone away on Monday afternoon. Not yet.
"Right now, we're a pissed-off team," coach Jonathan Gannon said. "Now it comes down to what do you do about it, and to make sure that we keep learning and improving."
Whether it was Kyler Murray at the podium or from Dante Stills and Mack Wilson Sr. in the locker room postgame, there's a level of confidence within the organization that isn't always found after such a loss. Even while playing with their fourth right tackle this season, the Cardinals weren't far behind a Super Bowl contender.
Gannon will be the first to admit that the running game needs to get rolling in order for the offense to play a game like Week 2. He'll also recognize that the defense's performance in the first half could improve. But Gannon has confidence the players to make it happen are already in the locker room.
"It's just couple plays here and there of consistency," Gannon said. "That's why I'm enthused because I know we can do it. We're not asking the guys to do something that they can't physically or mentally do. Our guys have shown that they can. It's about coaching them up and then playing good ball and being consistent."
After the Week 1 loss to Buffalo, the Cardinals proved Gannon's belief in a blowout over the Rams. That's the response the leaders in the facility are looking for as Washington comes to town.
How it comes about can be different for each player. After Buffalo, defensive lineman Roy Lopez said earlier in his career a one-score loss would've stung, but now he's able to flush it sooner. In his seventh season with the Cardinals, Gardeck doesn't want to completely let the feeling dissipate.
"For me it's letting the things that I need to get better at burn for a little bit," Gardeck said. "I think if you put it to bed too soon, the motivation to get it corrected in a timely and urgent matter isn't there as much, so I want to let it burn. I want to feel like I let the guys done on the plays that I need to get corrected, and then by the time I'm watching film (Monday), I'm watching Washington film, not what I did against Detroit."
The toughness and physicality on the field throughout the Lions game was apparent -- even local Fox 10 videographer Brad Gass got banged up during the game -- but the mental toughness as the Cardinals prepare for the Commanders can guide them to a similar bounceback outcome they experienced in the home opener.
"We've got mature and serious people, so you've got to be able to take it on the chin after a loss but learn from it and also see the good from it," Gannon said. "It's tough to do after a loss in a tight ball game versus a good team, a couple plays here and there and maybe the results a little bit different. You can't do anything about (Sunday), but what you can do is how you respond today and what we do moving forward.
"We're going to respond the right way because of the maturity and the seriousness of the locker room."
MCBRIDE IN PROTOCOL
Gannon said tight end Trey McBride is in concussion protocol after his helmet-to-helmet collision with Lions safety Brian Branch. Further injury updates -- like for defensive linemen Justin Jones (triceps) and Khyiris Tonga (knee) -- weren't available yet, Gannon said.
