The Arizona Cardinals and head coach Mike LaFleur are now back to the drawing board.
The Cardinals‘ ugly 31-7 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday afternoon is a culmination of a poor second half showing. Seattle is simply the better team, but many of Arizona’s flaws came into full focus during this time.
Read more about the general assessment of starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett’s week two performance below.
Arizona QB Brissett Panned for Performance
Arizona’s offense – for as much talent they have on the field – fell flat against Seattle.
This reflects on how Brissett’s week two showing is being viewed by the NFL world.
Key examples of this are from Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report, as well as Donnie Druin of Arizona Cardinals on SI, each of which give Brissett an ‘F’ grade for his performance.
A myriad of factors are backing this performance, including Seattle’s dual-high safety look that raises the difficulty of pushing the ball forward. This reflects on Brissett’s average depth of target (6.4 yards) (PFF), and encapsulates with his longest completion on Sunday being nine yards.
For as proficient as Brissett was in week one for Arizona, this game is at the front line of exposing his flaws. The 33-year-old quarterback struggles to push the ball downfield and often crumbles under pressure. He also isn’t the strongest improvisor in the NFL, either.
While week one remains a great stepping stone, week two raises as many questions in response. Below is a discussion around the future of Arizona and Brissett as a pairing.
What Cardinals’ Future Entails With Brissett
The loss to Seattle opens the door for Arizona to make a quarterback change sooner rather than later.
Despite the potential for a change, there’s little doubt that Brissett is the starter for Arizona in week three. The defensive challenges that the Cardinals face coming up are too much for rookie Carson Beck to be thrown into. The upside of starting Gardner Minshew II is next-to-none.
Through all of this, figuring out when to pull the plug on Brissett’s time as the starter is an inherent challenge for Arizona. Several factors are coming into the fold for this discussion. This includes Brissett’s camaraderie with his receivers, matchups, and a potential to trade the journeyman to a QB-needy franchise.
Brissett will not be back with Arizona next season. This doesn’t mean that each side cannot benefit from one another in the meantime. However, another rough performance (or two) against the San Fransisco 49ers and Detroit Lions certainly opens the door to an even greater extent for a change.
Only time will tell what comes of Brissett’s partnership with the Cardinals. Until then, Brissett is starting when Arizona travels to take on the 49ers on Sept. 27 in another road battle.
Stay patient, Cardinals fans. There are still reasons to push excitement forward this season, even with challenges the franchise is facing.
Arizona Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett’s Week 2 Performance Gets Widely Panned