The Arizona Cardinals’ luck finally ran out against the 49ers. After barely hanging on against the Saints and especially against the Panthers, the Cardinals came unstuck against the 49ers, losing by a single point in a 16-15 thriller. Although it’s not panic stations yet, the Cardinals have been far from convincing despite winning 2 out of their first 3 games. And the players, as well as the HC Jonathan Gannon, are feeling this frustration.

Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray was frustrated after the loss and commented on missed opportunities in blunt terms. “Frustrated, you know, felt like we let that one slip. Uh, we did let it slip. Another game we had opportunities to kind of put a game away. And we all just got to play better,” Murray said. His words captured the spirit of accountability, but also the simple surrender Arizona left on the field that they might have taken with them.

Behind 15-13 and beginning at their 20-yard line, backup quarterback Mac Jones directed a 63-yard drive, which positioned kicker Robbie Pineiro for the winning field goal. Arizona’s defense had provided the offense with chances all game long, but the failure of the Cardinals to take advantage came at a price. Murray and the team were unable to get the plays required to secure victory

“Got to make plays when they’re there, myself included. You know, everybody obviously feels like the defense did enough for us to win the game, and we didn’t finish the job. And that’s, again, I’ve been telling y’all, you know, today it’s unfortunate. We got to get right. If we want to go,” he explained.

Arizona had only 260 yards of offense against the 49ers in Week 3, the third straight week below 300 yards. They are now 16th in the league at 4.3 yards per carry and 24th at 6.0 yards per attempt. Touchdowns, too, have been few and far between, with just 18.5% of their scoring chances resulting in points scored, ranking 25th in the league.

​If the offenses were not bad enough, the Cardinals also suffered from a key injury. Running back

James Conner was carried off the field on a stretcher after taking a vicious hit in the backfield from San Francisco’s Marques Sigle.

Conner rolled over uncomfortably on his right ankle and set about immediately after the play was completed. ESPN’s Adam Schefter indicated Conner would have to undergo an operation on his ankle and sit out the rest of the season.

HC Jonathan Gannon took responsibility for the Cardinals’ shortcomings against the 49ers.

Jonathan Gannon takes accountability

Head coach

Jonathan Gannon accepted responsibility for the loss in his postgame presser and also went out of his way to compliment his staff. “I thought they fought hard versus a good team. I wasn’t real pleased… So, that’s collectively all of us,” Gannon explained. He accepted the blame for the team as a group rather than finger-pointing at one player.

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Offensive coordinator

Drew Petzing was also being criticized over how Arizona was playing on offense, with everyone faulting his play calls and schemes. Gannon, though, did trust Petzing completely and stated, “I have no problems with the offensive playcalling. I never will. I know exactly what we are calling, so if you’ve got a problem with that, just look to me.”

The Cardinals now need to fix their own offensive unit, adjust without Conner, and learn to close games out if they’re going to be competitive in the extremely strong NFC West. Murray and the team will have to react quickly, learn from the close loss, and enact it into concrete progress on the field. However, with two victories and one loss, the Cardinals are still in contention.