After their Week 2 game, the Arizona Cardinals finally sit at 2-0. That’s something they haven’t managed since 2021. Sure, their wins haven’t been flashy. Both games left fans shaking their heads at times. But last Sunday, they did just enough to edge out the Carolina Panthers and stay unbeaten. However, Kyler Murray wasn’t about to let everyone sweep the problems under the rug.

In his post-game presser, he didn’t hold back when talking about the Cardinals’ fourth-quarter issues. “It didn’t bite us in the a– today, it didn’t bite us in the a– last week. But you keep playing around, you get bit,” Murray said bluntly. It wasn’t just a warning. It was a wake-up call. On top of that, the final stretch of the game became a complete mess.

Murray described it as a “kind of a sh-t-show, to be honest,” referring to the flag-filled ending. The stats didn’t lie either. Six penalties—four on the Cardinals—spanned 12 snaps. At one point, three penalties hit back-to-back. That sequence alone showed a team losing focus at the worst possible time. And it wasn’t just Kyler Murray, who called out the team’s carelessness in the final minutes.

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“It was a lot of different factors,” defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson said. “Just discipline with technique and stuff like that. And just the flags. That’s another thing. We got to play within the rules there. We can’t be giving up penalties when we’re supposed to go off the field and stuff like that.”

But not everything can be chalked up to the penalties. After all, the offense did not bother the scorers after the first drive in the second half. Even worse, the defense allowed three touchdowns. One of those came after a risky interception by Kyler Murray in the red zone. It was a recipe for disaster.

Yet, the Cardinals somehow escaped major embarrassment. They let Carolina convert a fourth-and-one, a third-and-three, and later a fourth-and-16 for 26 yards. Plus, a third-and-10 for 10 yards. Then came three defensive penalties in the final drive. But Calais Campbell stepped up.

How did Kyler Murray and Co. escape Panthers’ comeback?

Early on, the Cardinals looked unstoppable. Thanks to two quick turnovers, they jumped ahead 10-0 before the Panthers could blink. Defensive lineman Josh Sweat came through big time, sacking Bryce Young and forcing a fumble on just the third play. Linebacker Zaven Collins wasn’t shy either. He scooped up the ball at the 3-yard line and stumbled into the end zone. Then, just a few plays later, Baron Browning picked off Young for his second career interception. Arizona didn’t waste time, adding a field goal to stretch the lead. Suddenly, the momentum was all theirs.

But as the game wore on, the pressure built. The Panthers weren’t going away quietly. With Carolina scoring three touchdowns and Murray throwing an interception, the game tightened fast. Then came the nightmare moment: Carolina executed an onside kick and recovered it. The Cardinals’ fans at State Farm Stadium held their breath as the Panthers grabbed the ball, keeping their hopes alive.

With only 1:55 left on the clock, it was do-or-die for Arizona’s defense. Despite a “ref show” that seemed to favor Carolina, the Cards stood tall. On a critical fourth-and-15 from their own 38, veteran Calais Campbell stepped up. He wrapped up the quarterback, stopping the Panthers cold and sealing the win for the home team.

At the end of the day, the performance wasn’t pretty. Arizona collapsed from a 27-3 lead to 27-22. Still, a win’s a win. Now 2-0, the Cardinals have a bigger challenge waiting in San Francisco.