The Arizona Cardinals cannot get out of their own way, and it looks nearly identical week in and week out.

This past Sunday, the Cardinals relinquished yet another fourth-quarter lead, falling 27-23 to the Green Bay Packers after another defensive collapse in the final 15 minutes.

Arizona has not won or lost a game this season by more than one score. In all five of their consecutive defeats, they’ve lost by less than a touchdown. The five losses have been decided by a total of 13 points.

So, does that mean Arizona is capable of getting back in the win column and making a run? Or is the season truly over just seven games in?

Cardinals’ Repetitive Losses Put Season in Question

Often, when a team falls victim to so many one-score losses, the external surrounding narratives are more of a favorable glance at the team in question.

“They’re close,” is the phrase that sometimes pacifies dissatisfied fans. “They’re a handful of plays away from (excellent record),” will frequently populate the social media streets. Head coach Jonathan Gannon expressed a similar sentiment in his postgame press conference.

“A loss is a loss. With saying that, how are you losing? … I know we’re close, it’s not like we’re getting the brakes beat off us,” Gannon said.

“But we’re not doing enough, and ultimately that falls on me. I’m disappointed in myself, because we’ve got to figure out a better way… to get ourselves in a better position to win.

“We’ll do a deep dive. We’ve got to get it corrected. Every losing coach, I’m sure, stands up here and says the same [stuff], but until we do it, it’s going to keep happening.”

It’s not an entirely-untrue statement. The Cardinals are a handful of plays away from a potential 5-1 or even 6-0 record. It’s not exceptionally difficult to point out those losing plays, either.

But the problem — the most discouraging part of their abysmal slide — is simply how formulaic, predictable and unsurprisingly disheartening each fourth-quarter loss is. On top of that, quality of opponent hasn’t seemed to matter to any degree.

The Cardinals have played almost the exact same game for seven weeks. It just so happened that their opponents fell just shy of executing a game-winning drive in weeks one and two.

But with the exception of a failed comeback against the Seahawks on Thursday Night Football, every other loss has been the same: hold a fourth-quarter lead, then blow that lead. They’ve lost three straight games in which they’ve held a seven-plus point advantage in the fourth quarter — the first team in NFL history to do so.

Arizona has allowed 78 total points in the first three quarters this season. That is the fourth-best total in the NFL. In the fourth quarter alone, they’ve allowed 76 total points — worst in the NFL. Their defense has been among the worst in nearly every category once those final 15 minutes begin.

In terms of the season itself — no, 2025 is not (mathematically) over.

But the rest of the NFC West continues to win, seemingly no matter which players or coaches are present. A division title is, safe to say, out of the question, and even a Wild Card berth would require a significant flip of fortune between Arizona and any of Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

It’s possible, of course, but it’s not likely.

But before anyone starts thinking or talking about playoffs in Arizona, the first step is, simply, winning one game to end the five-game skid.

“It’s right there, but it’s so far,” said interim starting QB Jacoby Brissett. “I think that’s the main thing, just staying together. Once one comes, it’ll start to flow, but we’ve got to find a way to get better and get one.”

It’s easy to just pessimistically proclaim the Cardinals winless for the 10-game duration of 2025. But that’s not even entirely irrational.

Sure, 2-15 would be a surprising outcome for a roster that is clearly more talented than that number. Arizona will (probably) win some of their remaining games. But, at least logically speaking, can one take a look at the remainder of the schedule and know, for a fact, that Arizona will win any of those matchups?

No.

It’s not because the Cardinals have no talent, or that they’re playing unbeatable teams. In fact, nearly every matchup is a game Arizona could win.

But the Cardinals have played both good and bad teams this season, and the games have looked exactly the same, no matter what. They’ve blown fourth-quarter leads to the Packers and Colts — two good teams — but they also squandered a double-digit lead to the bottom-tier Titans, and couldn’t stop a decimated 49ers roster with a backup QB from executing a game-winning drive.

If not for a pair of heroic individual defensive plays, they may have given up the game-winning score to both the Saints and Panthers to open the season.

So while it’s true the Cardinals are a handful of mistakes away from a potential 6-0 record, they also might be 0-6 if not for Calais Campbell’s and Jalen Thompson’s game-saving plays. No matter how good or bad their opponent may be, the final minutes of each game look remarkably similar.

Arizona is beyond a simple crossroads in their season. They’ll need to stack an exceptional number of wins to get back into relevance. Clearly, they can compete with the good teams, but if they haven’t proven their ability to close out wins against poor teams, no matchup inspires confidence going forward.

In terms of objective fact, the season is not over. But with 10 games remaining, the Cardinals will need to win nearly every one to find their way into the playoffs, barring unprecedented collapses by their division rivals.

The same game has been played seven weeks in a row. Without some kind of extensive, wholesale change, it’s hard to envision the Cardinals as even capable of winning a handful — though Gannon maintains confidence in his group.

“We have had adversity hit us since I’ve been here, and we are in it now,” he said.

“There’s only one way to flip the narrative, which I feel really confident with how we’re going to do that. We’re going to put our best foot forward, put all the energy and effort into flipping it, and then let the chips fall. But I do feel good about what we’re going to do when we get back here on Monday.”