Since their Week 11 bye, the Cardinals have suffered a trio of losses that have been tough to swallow, arguably none more difficult than Sunday's 30-18 loss to the Seahawks.
Yet there was a silver lining sprinkled in that embodies the culture coach Jonathan Gannon has hoped to instill since his arrival.
"The best part about it, I guess to say if there is, is that we're going through this together," defensive lineman Roy Lopez said Monday. "We continue to lean on one another and it's full throttle ahead."
With the defeat, the path to playing football beyond the regular season becomes more challenging. A game below .500, the Cardinals now sit in third place in the NFC West and because of the Seattle sweep, they're essentially three games behind the first-place Seahawks. There are but four games left on the schedule.
However, the season is not over, and the NFL is known as an any given Sunday league for a reason. The Seahawks are scheduled to play the Vikings and Packers, while the Cardinals' next four opponents are the Patriots, Panthers, Rams, and 49ers.
A lot could change between now and the regular season finale, which has given Lopez a dose of optimism -- and regardless, how the Cardinals play down the stretch will always be meaningful.
"When you get into this level of football, respect is a lot. Respect is earned," Lopez said. "You get your reputation through your reps, and you are what you put on tape."
Gannon shouldered the blame for the Seahawks loss, since "we did not play our brand of ball there, so it starts with me."
It's self-inflicted wounds that set the Cardinals back. Quarterback Kyler Murray's turnovers on back-to-back possessions and the influx of penalties stood out to Gannon. After the game, coach said he and the staff will need to find answers to limit mistakes.
"It's really technique-driven, the most of (the penalties) that I've seen, whether that be our feet, our hands, our eyes, our pad level, we've got to do a better job there," Gannon said. "That's something we've got to get cleaned up fast because we're moving backwards and you're not going to play good offense moving backwards."
Their upcoming opponent, the Patriots, make the cross country trip to the Valley coming off of their bye week. With rookie quarterback Drake Maye at the helm, New England holds a 3-10 record and have battled to find consistency under first-year head coach Jerod Mayo.
Maye has been sacked at least three times in four of his last five starts. The last time the Cardinals faced a rookie quarterback, Caleb Williams and the Bears, the Cardinals sacked him six times.
"The thing that I said throughout the season is the beauty of this, in six days, you get another opportunity," Lopez said.
