Football is hard. Great teams make it look easy. Good teams stay afloat. Bad teams look comically incompetent. The Cardinals are all over the map.

On Sunday they faced a superior team with a superior coaching staff and a superior quarterback. As expected, they were beaten 34-13 in Green Bay.

Their discipline and foundations collapsed horribly. They entered Week 6 as the NFL's least penalized team, being subbed 13 times against the Packers.

They committed costly turnovers. They suffered further injuries. They were exploded for the second time in three weeks. Just like in their loss to the resilient Lions, the Cardinals were dominated in their own game (rushing yards, time of possession). And just like the loss to Detroit, this game wasn't as close as the final score suggested.

After a thrilling comeback win against the 49ers, Valley fans craved real consistency, a real winning streak and a chance at real advancement. With a win, a significant milestone and a rallying cry, they could have secured first place in the NFC West.

But these Cardinals can't stand prosperity, and they can't perform well. Every win in Jonathan Gannon's tenure as head coach was followed by at least two losses. And it starts again.

While Kyler Murray was fine on Sunday, he wasn't good enough. The star player at Lambeau Field was clearly Jordan Love, one of many young players who have overtaken Murray in the pecking order of NFL quarterbacks. Be honest: who would you rather have?

Both Murray and Love completed 22 of 32 passes, but their performances are not similar.

Mostly because love is the real deal and because the Packers had a great game plan to nullify Murray's improvisational skills and give Arizona's quarterback another afternoon of visible frustration.

Of course, the Cardinals didn't generate any pressure against Love because their edge rushers didn't exhibit such disastrous behavior. And aside from Mack Wilson Sr., the defensive free agents added in 2024 have largely been a disaster.

The offense is not immune to criticism. While Trey McBride regained dominance on Sunday, freshmen Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey Benson seem constantly confused about what to do on a football field. From the first possession, there were more misunderstandings between Murray and the prized rookie receiver once described as a generational talent. And then Harrison missed a pass that hit him in the face, causing him to stumble into a defender's leg and leave the game with a concussion.

Harrison Jr.'s struggles are very real. And they are officially a problem.

If the stars align, the Cardinals can play with anyone in the NFL. But for now they remain largely a flash sandwich, serving up rare, meaty performances between pyres.

It's a dangerous trajectory. Ultimately, there will be a conflict between Gannon's culture of fighting to the last drop and Monti Ossenfort's philosophy of building a team through draft picks and high-character journeymen. Because a growing culture can only absorb so many one-sided defeats.

For now, the Cardinals are getting exactly what they paid for.

Reach Bickley at [email protected]. Listen to Bickley & Marotta weekdays from 6-10 a.m. on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

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