Mike LaFleur began his postgame press conference in Arlington with an injury update and then turned to the finish: the Arizona Cardinals came back from a 17-3 deficit to beat the Dallas Cowboys 33-30 in overtime. The head coach said the offense was a problem for most of the afternoon and that it was on everyone. “That was a collective. That was not just on one person,” LaFleur said.
Arizona is 3-5 after the win. It visits the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, November 8.
“I need to be better”
Asked what went into sitting Jacoby Brissett and playing Gardner Minshew, LaFleur said the team needed a spark. “It was a collective deal,” he said. “I need to be better with our scheme. Obviously, I need to be better with our play calling, and all of us need it. We got a lot to fix right now, and I don’t want this last 30 minutes or 35 minutes to mask the stuff that we need to fix on offense, because I know we’re a lot better than that. I know we can execute better than that.”
A follow-up asked why that change was not made earlier in the game or earlier in the season. “Again, it was collective,” he said. “I know what the story is going to be, and I understand that, and so does he. But that was collective, and it starts with me.”
What Minshew unlocked
LaFleur said Minshew was ready for the moment. “He’s had a lot of success in this league, guys, and he’s about as resilient as they come, too,” he said. “If you ask Gardner Minshew, he’s ready at all times.” He said the quarterback extended a few plays, his timing was great and the receivers made plays for him.
He walked through how it started. Minshew’s first completion was a six-yard pass to Devin Duvernay, and then running back Tyler Allgeier broke a long run. “It just kind of somewhat unlocked and loosened them up,” LaFleur said. “That’s why you need explosives and big plays, because it loosens people up.”
A depleted offense that kept going
LaFleur said the defense “played awesome” and held Dallas to 3.6 yards per play, while the offense lost three receivers, a running back and its right tackle to injuries along the way, and then changed quarterbacks. “For those guys to continue to battle was unbelievable,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it from an injury standpoint in the skill position in my life.”
He said it got to the point where the quarterback did not know who he was throwing to. “You don’t know who’s mixing and matching, and Mike’s hurting,” LaFleur said, referring to receiver Michael Wilson, who was playing through pain. He said he was calling plays based on the formation and that Wilson and Simi Fehoko were switching roles themselves at the end so Fehoko could do more of the grinder work.
Asked what it takes mentally to stay in a game like that, he said: “That’s what we all signed up for. It is what it is. Next man up.” “I think you guys can tell I’m at a loss for words in terms of just how I feel for that locker room right now,” he said. “Every single one of those guys put their body on the line. A lot of young guys in there that I’m excited to watch continue to grow.” He added that the team would see the full list of injuries the next day.
Ryland and the overtime finish
LaFleur also praised the special teams for staying calm after Chad Ryland missed the extra point that would have given Arizona the lead in regulation, which sent the game to overtime. He told the players as overtime started that there was “no way” they were not leaving with a win. The defense got a stop, the offense made enough plays, and Ryland won it with a field goal. “There Chad is doing it again, just like he did two weeks ago at SoFi, and being resilient,” LaFleur said. “So proud of all those guys.”
The Cardinals kick off at Seattle on Sunday, November 8, at 4:25 p.m. ET, which is 11:25 p.m. in Cairo. The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday, November 10, at 4 p.m. ET, which is 11 p.m. in Cairo.
No published comments yet. Start the conversation.