The Arizona Cardinals allowed a third win this season to slip through their finger in the most literal way in the Week 5 loss to the Tennessee Titans, 22-21.
With just under 13 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter on Sunday, the Cardinals had a chance to nearly seal the game with a 76-yard run by running back Emari Demercado, which initially appeared to be a touchdown that would have put them up 27-6. However, after review, it was determined that Demercado released the football before crossing the goal line, resulting in a touchback. Arizona head coach Jonathan Gannon was seen on the sideline after the play going off on Demercado for the mistake.
Demercado had 81 yards rushing in the game, but had that touchdown wiped away. Gannon wasted little time letting the third-year running back out of TCU know he’s in the dog house, though he downplayed the mistake when speaking to reporters after the game.
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“It’s never about one play,” Gannon said.
Gannon said Monday that he apologized to both Demercado and the team over the incident.
“I woke up this morning and didn’t feel great about it, honestly … I just told them I kind of let the moment of what happened get the better of me there,” he said, via Arizona Sports’ Tyler Drake. “Obviously I try to be emotionally stable and calm, because my job is to solve problems during a game and try to lead the charge on that. It’s not really who I am and who I want to be.”
After starting the season 2-0, the Cardinals are now moving in the wrong direction, having lost three in a row after Sunday’s loss to the Titans. Gannon’s team is competing, but has lost three consecutive games by a total of five points. They’ve played well enough to be in these games late, but haven’t been able to put teams away for the win. In Week 3, Arizona lost at San Francisco 16-15. Over the last two weeks at home, the Cardinals fell to the Seahawks, 23-20, and then the Titans on Sunday, 22-21.
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Though the Cardinals have yet to finish with a winning record under Gannon, the team did improve from Year 1 to 2. In Gannon’s first season (2023) as head coach in Arizona, they finished 4-13. Last season, the Cardinals were able to double that win total and finish 8-9. Despite the improvement, there has been speculation about Gannon’s job security with this season being a pivotal one.
After losing three straight games and that sideline tirade after Demercado’s slip-up, Gannon’s coaching seat could continue to get hotter by the week. Arizona’s schedule doesn’t get any easier as they’ll visit Indianapolis next in a Week 6 showdown with the 4-1 Colts on Sunday.
