👋 GOOD MORNING – Happy Friday, we’ve made it to the end of another week in the up-and-down world of Arizona Sports.

There were some high notes this week, but ultimately, reality is going to set in hard once again on Sunday, as the Cardinals continue their march through the nightmare.

But I’ll be with you every step of the way. Let’s talk Cards-Jags!

— Alex D’Agostino, PHNX Sports Daily Editor

Cardinals Face Jaguars: Turning Point?

Alright, so the Cardinals have now been obliterated by back-to-back divisional opponents. Sick.

Look, that’s part of life in the NFC West, even during a successful season. 2025 has been anything but successful for Jonathan Gannon and the Cardinals, though.

But it’s not exactly irrelevant that both Kyle Shanahan and Mike Macdonald (and their teams’ rosters) are just in a class above Arizona right now.

It’s not what was supposed to happen this season, but it’s the reality we have to face.

But this week’s matchup is a little different. The Jacksonville Jaguars come to town for Arizona’s second-straight home game. The Cardinals are a dismal 1-4 at home, while the Jaguars are 2-2 on the road.

At 3-7, the Cardinals may be playing with house money, while Jacksonville actually does have playoff implications riding on this game. The Jaguars are the quietest 6-4 team in football, are in pursuit of the red-hot Colts, and maintain a thin one-game lead over the Texans in the AFC South. A Wild Card berth is within reach, and a win Sunday would go a long way for Trevor Lawrence and co.

In some ways, there’s nothing at stake for Arizona. They’ve already been (not mathematically, but essentially) eliminated from postseason talks, and the outlook on 2025 is that of abject failure and nothing more.

But at the same time, the only thing that can turn a culture of losing around is winning games. Sure, Arizona may not be in the hunt for the Super Bowl, or anything close, but “tanking” for a draft pick is not on the table, and no amount of wins will ever be a bad outcome for an organization.

Look, you’ll never catch me rooting for a loss and a higher pick. I won’t tell you how to be a fan, but I think winning is always good — ALWAYS.

But as much as Jacksonville is a less terrifying opponent than San Francisco or Seattle, they’ve still had a pretty successful year. The matchup is winnable for Arizona, but it’s anything but a cakewalk.

The keys to a Cardinals victory:

• Play to Offensive Strengths

The Jaguars have a middling overall defense, but they’re dismal against the pass and elite against the run. They’ve given up just 86.7 on the ground per game (second best in the NFL), but the fifth-worst 236.1 passing yards per game.

What’s been working for the Cardinals lately? The run game? No. The passing game? Extremely. It may be coming in garbage time, but QB Jacoby Brissett and his pass-catchers have been lighting up opposing defenses. Brissett set an NFL record last week with 47 completions while throwing for 452 yards and two touchdowns against Robert Saleh’s defense. Blowout or not, that isn’t insignificant.

With WR Marvin Harrison Jr. ruled out again as he continues to recover from appendicitis, it’ll be Michael Wilson leading the charge again. Wilson caught 15 passes for 185 yards last week, the most of any receiver this year and the most for a Cardinal since 2008. He’s proven his ability, so keep feeding him.

Oh, and then there’s also the best tight end in the NFL, Trey McBride. All he did was catch 10 passes for 115 and a score last week. He leads all TEs in receptions and yards, and is tied for first in touchdowns.

• Defensive Bounce-Back

For a team that should be defense-oriented, Arizona has given up back-to-back 40-point games. They’ve been banged up, sure, but they just haven’t been effective defensively.

And it’s not for a lack of talent. Josh Sweat has nine sacks on the season — two away from tying a career-high 11 with seven games to play. Budda Baker is still a stud, Will Johnson (when healthy) has been one of the best defensive rookies in the league, 39-year-old Calais Campbell is still playing at a high level, and Walter Nolen III looks like an elite DL in the making.

There’s talent, but it just hasn’t come together. Arizona needs a full-unit, cohesive defensive performance to complement a rising offensive output.

Cardinals Injury Rundown

-CB Will Johnson and OL Will Hernandez both returned to practice in a limited capacity yesterday.

–RB Trey Benson had his practice window opened and was limited.

–OL Kelvin Beachum, RB Emari Demercado, LB Baron Browning, S Dadrion Taylor-Demerson and OL Jonah Williams did not practice yesterday.

Quick Hits

Timber!: The Suns take on the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight at 7:00 p.m. at Mortgage Matchup Center. Minnesota is a sturdy 10-5 on the season, while Phoenix has won 6 of their last 7 (I won’t say it, but I’m thinking it) despite the loss of Jalen Green.

Aloha: If you stayed up past midnight to watch this game, congrats. Arizona State hoops fended off the Rainbow Warriors in Honolulu, winning 83-76 over Hawaii in a late-night matchup. Bobby Hurley’s guys improve to 4-1 on the young season behind a 20-point day by Junior guard Bryce Ford.

Tip of the Hat by Branded Bills

This is just awesome work by the Diamondbacks media team: