TEMPE – Growing pains are a part of life. They’re also a part of the NFL.
When the Arizona Cardinals hired Mike LaFleur as coach in February, they knew it would take time for the players to get fully acquainted with his offensive scheme.
The offense showed signs of progress in a Week 1 win against the Los Angeles Chargers, but it reverted to learning status in a Week 2 blowout loss to the Seahawks.
It’s too early to tell if the concepts have been absorbed, but the offense looked its most complete in Week 3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on Sept. 27.
Despite the 36-30 outcome, most facets of LaFleur’s offensive plan were on full display.
Quarterback Jacoby Brissett completed 38 of 52 passes for 280 yards and two touchdowns and he rushed for another. Receiver Michael Wilson broke out with 11 catches for 89 yards and a TD. Tight end Trey McBride did Trey McBride things with nine catches for 75 yards, and rookie running back Jeremiyah Love showed signs of the explosiveness that led the Cardinals to draft him third overall in 2026. Love had 90 yards on 21 carries.
It was a tale of two halves. Arizona scored just six points in the first but flipped the switch and scored 24 in the second. One week after the Cardinals scored just seven points and recorded 151 yards against the Seahawks’ “Dark Side” defense, they bounced back with arguably their best offensive showing in more than a season.
“I definitely felt like we got into a much better rhythm in the second half,” tight end Elijah Higgins said Monday.
Arizona had not reached the 30-point threshold since Week 18 of the 2024 season, which also occurred against the 49ers. The Cardinals knew scoring would have to be the focus as San Francisco had averaged 31 points coming into Sunday’s game.
They were able to keep pace with the 49ers, but weren’t able to pull out the victory. LaFleur felt a lack of explosive plays contributed to the final score.
“We’re three weeks in and haven’t been extremely explosive,” he said. “They’ve done a pretty good job staying efficient, but man, at some point we got to get a little bit more explosive.”
Arizona did not record a passing play of 20 yards or more, or a rushing play of 10 yards or more. Both of those benchmarks define explosive plays in the passing and running game.
Brissett’s 52 pass attempts were the second-most he has thrown in a game in his career. He continued to work with one of his favorite targets, Wilson, who only had seven receptions through two weeks, but continued to show why he earned a three-year extension reportedly worth $75 million just before the start of this season.
Love also had the best game of his young career, eclipsing 100 all-purpose yards while finding the end zone.
“Just the conviction with which he runs the ball,” Higgins said of Love’s performance. “Every time he gets the ball, he’s looking to make something out of it, and I have a lot of respect for that.”
Aside from the lack of explosive plays, another piece of the Arizona offense continues to underperform expectations: third-year wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., the first receiver selected in the 2024 NFL Draft. He was quiet again against the 49ers with three catches for 40 yards.
Despite the slow start to the season, LaFleur defended his wideout.
“I thought he responded nicely,” LaFleur said. “I thought he again got to his spots. There were some opportunities in the intermediate where he’s getting to his spots. So I thought he did some nice stuff, and I’m looking forward to working with him on Wednesday and continuing to grow.”
Despite the scoring outburst, LaFleur acknowledged the team’s penalties are an ongoing issue that has to be cleaned up. His side picked up 10 penalties for a total of 86 yards, which marks their season high for penalties in a game. The Cardinals have 24 this season, the ninth-worst mark in the NFL.
“You just got to focus in on it,” LaFleur said. “It’s like sometimes you have to speak it into existence. I don’t think we’ve done that. We’re professional coaches and players. We were in it with them, but that certainly is an aspect that needs to get cleaned up.”
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