👋 GOOD MORNING – Welcome to another brutal Monday morning in the 2025 NFL season. The Arizona Cardinals were all-around beaten down by the Rams yesterday, and it’s time to face the music of another lost season.

We’ll talk about it all anyway.

And hey, at least there are a couple of bowl game reveals to look forward to. At least there’s some level of competent football in this state, right?

Back to it!

— Alex D’Agostino, PHNX Sports Daily Editor

Cardinals Beaten Across the Board by Rams

Well, we knew coming into this game that the Los Angeles Rams were a tough team. With a 3-9 record coming in and no chance of a playoff run, most people probably expected the Cardinals to come away from this matchup with a lopsided loss.

But it didn’t make it any less ugly on Sunday afternoon, as Sean McVay’s division-leading squad completely dominated the Cardinals, 45-17. It was the first game of the season where it felt like this team looked like it lacked energy and intensity.

The Rams are simply a very, very good team. As bad as the Cardinals are, this game says even more about LA. We’ll see if it’s enough to take down the Eagles (or even the Seahawks), but they certainly know how to handle business against inferior teams — which the Cardinals clearly were yesterday.

But there just seemed to be a lack of juice in this Cardinals team this week. There was very little power to be seen from the defensive front, massive holes in the secondary, and an air of overall futility on the offensive side of the football. Sure, Arizona was banged-up and facing an elite opponent, but it was still simply a tough effort to witness.

Arizona’s defense surrendered 249 yards on the ground and three touchdowns (6.9 yards per carry, by the way), and gave up 281 more (and three more scores) through the air.

The Cardinals’ defense looked gassed and, to be truthful, somewhat unmotivated. It’s hard to really blame them, given what unfolded.

These types of games were what the Cardinals’ coaching staff would cite early in the season. While they lost week in and week out, most games had been close, one-score, and seemingly coming with some amount of poor luck.

But you can’t argue with three blowouts against division rivals. The Cardinals are merely of a lower class for now, and it’s been brutal on the fans who have stuck with them through this ugly season.

We’ll take a look at some top Cardinals performances, but it’s truly hard to mine much positivity from such an ugly contest.

Cardinals Top Performers

WR Michael Wilson – Wilson continues to dominate when called upon. The stud wideout collected 11 receptions, 142 yards and two touchdowns. If you had him in fantasy this week, congrats!

LB Owen Pappoe – 10 total tackles and a pass defended. In a game where quality tackling was tough to find, Pappoe was all over the field.

Is… is that it?

Pretty much, yes. TE Trey McBride played a predictably solid game too, but was held to 58 yards on five receptions. He did, however, tie an NFL record for most games in a row with five-plus catches (15).

Quick Hits

On Holiday: It’s official. The Arizona Wildcats will take a trip to San Diego, awaiting a matchup with the SMU Mustangs in the Holiday Bowl. The 9-3 Cats look to end their season with 10 wins for the second time in three seasons. Arizona moved up to No. 17 in the College Football Playoff rankings, and No. 21 in the AP poll.

The No. 2-ranked Wildcat men’s hoops completely dominated their matchup against No. 20 Auburn on Saturday night, winning 97-68 at McKale Center. With No. 1 Purdue losing to Iowa State by 23, the No. 1 spot appears to be Arizona’s for the taking.

Arizona women’s basketball lost their second straight last night, falling 72-69 to New Mexico after falling just short of a last-minute comeback.

Sun-Kissed: The Sun Devils will head to El Paso for the Sun Bowl (there’s gotta be some kind of joke there, but I couldn’t come up with it). ASU will face ACC champion Duke in search of a 9-4 season.

ASU Men’s basketball took a sturdy 86-70 win over the Oklahoma Sooners in Tempe as Moe Odum continued his excellent season with 17 points. Bobby Hurley’s squad sure looks like they’re prepared to make some noise this season.

The Arizona State women took down San Francisco 67-44 on Saturday to advance to a perfect 10-0, while the volleyball squad will play in the third round of the NCAA tournament against No. 3 Creighton this week.

Houston, you are a problem: The Suns can’t seem to shake the Rockets this season. Phoenix held a lead in the early goings of Friday’s matchup, but sputtered to a 117-98 loss at the hands of Houston. Kevin Durant dropped 28 points and eight assists on his former team, while Dillon Brooks led the scoring with 23 for the Suns.

Phoenix will take on another tough opponent, facing the Timberwolves on the road at 5:30 p.m. tonight.

Tip of the Hat by Branded Bills

It feels nice that the Suns still provide some entertainment (and hope) in a blowout.