The Arizona Cardinals' record fell to 2-3 on Sunday after a shocking loss to the Tennessee Titans by a score of 22-21. It was yet another game that featured a solid all-around performance in the first half, with the Cardinals building a 21-6 lead heading into the break, before allowing 16 unanswered points thanks to brutal errors on both sides of the ball.

When Joey Slye’s 29-yard field goal split the uprights and the clock hit zero, the emotional impact was overwhelming anger mixed with confusion. Tennessee is the worst team in football, with an offense that averaged just 12.75 points per game and was fresh off a shutout against the Houston Texans. Yet, the Cardinals' offense toiled around in their own stupidity long enough that an offense as inept as Tennessee was able to overcome the brutal mistakes they made throughout the game and come out with a victory.

With 10:43 left in the second quarter, Zonovan "Bam" Knight punched in a one-yard touchdown that gave Arizona 21 points and an 18-point lead. It was nice to see, but it was also somewhat expected against the NFL’s worst team, at home, as a 7.5-point favorite. I’d wager that even the most pessimistic fan wouldn’t have been able to fathom that the offense wouldn’t score another point, with a drive chart that reads: Punt, 3-and-out, 3-and-out, fumble, 3-and-out, fumble, 3-and-out, punt.

Those fumbles were particularly frustrating, as the first bounced right off the helmet of an unsuspecting Kyler Murray, and the second saw Emari Demercado race 71 yards untouched before simply dropping the ball a few inches short of the goal line, which showed a lack of discipline so severe that Jonathan Gannon gave him an earful on the sideline.

The offense did some nice things during that early outburst, including the Kyler-Marv connection looking like it was building fourth quarter against Seattle, but Harrison didn’t see a target after his fourth and final catch at the 11:22 mark of the third quarter, and the Cardinals went back into the conservative shell they’ve showcased so frequently when holding a lead this season.

If Dadrion Taylor-Demerson just held onto his interception of Cam Ward with 4:06 to play, this is likely just another eye roll about offensive ineptitude, but the Titans scored one of the flukiest touchdowns in years, and after three losses in a row, it’s time for a change at offensive coordinator.

Drew Petzing was able to hide behind victories in the season's first two weeks while the offense was inconsistent at best, but it’s clear that his style is overly conservative and not built to maximize the skillsets of his quarterback and outside playmakers. Petzing has stubbornly relied on a terrible run game that has failed to churn out yards in big situations all season, and when you look at the dropoff the Arizona ground game has seen from 2024 to 2025, it’s pretty clear how much Klayton Adams meant to this coaching staff, as he’s currently in command of the league's best rushing offense in Dallas, and seems to have revived the career of Javonte Williams, despite him running behind an offensive line missing multiple impact players.

The Cardinals need new direction on offense, and if Gannon can’t see that after five miserable weeks, then he needs to be shown the door as well, especially with how the 2024 season ended for Arizona.

The answer at offensive coordinator could be bringing back Adams, or looking at someone like Mike McDaniel, who looks like he’ll be cut loose from the Miami Dolphins soon. A swing for the fences could be Denver Broncos pass game coordinator Davis Webb, who is only 30 years old and has been generating buzz as the next hot OC candidate.

Whatever answer the Cardinals choose, it can’t be continuing to employ Petzing. This is a playoff-caliber roster with the league's easiest opening schedule, and anything less than a 4-1 start should be unacceptable to everyone involved, but as we sit here today, 2025 feels doomed to be another year without a playoff game, and the only hope for improvement is swift changes to one of the league's worst offensive staffs.