Cardinals Tankers' Biggest Threat?
By Walter Mitchell
If anyone thinks Jacoby Brissett's teammates are down on him and want to see him benched, they are completely mistaken.
So why is it that so many Cardinals' pundits and fans are so desperate to get rid of Jacoby Brissett?
The answer is simple --- Jacoby Brissett is the tankers' biggest threat.
Amazing to think that a local radio host has already publicly admitted that he wants to see the Cardinals go 3-14 this year so that they can draft their QB of the future.
Wow, Gambo, going on record of stating you want the Cardinals to tank is reprehensible. Now that you've ruled out Jacoby after 4 games, you've already ruled out Carson Beck, without seeing him play? Why should any Cardinals' player who makes the enormous physical and mental sacrifices to compete at the highest level have any respect for your abject admission?
Where you are also mistaken is that over Jacoby Brissett's past 16 starts, he has proven that he not only is a legitimate starting QB (yes, on a bad team) --- he has proven that he has the potential to be one of the better starting QBs in the league.
Feathers in Brissett's Cap:
2022 - CLE - 11 starts with Drew Petzing as his QB coach, his 82.6 PFF grade was #6 in NFL.
2025 - ARI - 12 starts with Drew Petzing as his OC:
* Jacoby threw for more yards per game (280.5) during his stretch of starts than any QB in the NFL.
*He set an NFL passing record of 47 completions in a single game.
* He turned a struggling passing game under Kyler Murray into a Top 10 passing offense (#7) while playing with a series of injury-ravaged, makeshift offensive lines.
The Los Angeles Rams led the NFL in passing offense during the 2025 regular season with 268.1 passing yards per game and 46 passing touchdowns. [1]
| Rank | Team | Pass Yards Avg. | Pass Touchdowns |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Los Angeles Rams | 268.1 Yds/G | 46 |
| 2 |  Dallas Cowboys | 266.3 Yds/G | 31 |
| 3 |  Detroit Lions | 253.1 Yds/G | 35 |
| 4 |  New England Patriots | 250.5 Yds/G | 31 |
| 5 |  San Francisco 49ers | 244.5 Yds/G | 33 |
| 6 |  Cincinnati Bengals | 235.6 Yds/G | 36 |
| 7 |  Arizona Cardinals | 232.6 Yds/G | 29 |
| 8 |  Seattle Seahawks | 228.1 Yds/G | 25 |
| 9 |  Indianapolis Colts | 227.8 Yds/G | 25 |
| 10 | Chicago Bears | 225.1 Yds/G | 28 |
* His 3rd down conversion percentage helped place the Cardinals as #9 best in the NFL.
* He turned Michael Wilson into a 1,000-yard receiver and Trey McBride into a red zone superstar.
* McBride and Wilson, under Jacoby's leadership, emerged as the NFL's most productive TE/WR tandem, with a combined 2,356 yards and 18 TDs.
* He achieved all of this while absorbing 356 QB pressures, 110 QB hits and 43 sacks in what as gutsy a QB performance as Cardinals' fans have ever witnessed, that is if they are honest enough to admit it.
* His 94.1 QB passer RTG was 14th best in the NFL (for QBs with more than 10 starts) and was tied with AFC Pro Bowl QB Justin Herbert --- a passer rating that was higher than the likes of C.J. Stroud, Jaxson Dart, Tyler Shough, Trevor Lawrence, Baker Mayfield, Caleb Williams, Patrick Mahomes, Bo Nix and Bryce Young (nobody calls these QBs backups or stop-gap starters, do they?).
* He ranked #2 in the NFL in "catchable passes." Amazing stat seeing as how regularly he was throwing under duress.
2026 More Tough Blows for Brissett in the Off-Season:
* Losing Drew Petzing
* Cardinals' front office was reluctant to pay him low-end starter's money which to vitriolic podcasters and fans rendered him as a persona non grata, whom they insisted didn't deserve a penny more than what his current contract was affording him.
* Getting flamed in the media by pundits and on social media by dissenters, who like the PHNX propogandists declared that Brissett was "an embarrassment" to the Cardinals' organization and the "worst QB" in the NFL.
* Having to miss all of OTAs with Mike LaFleur, a new head coach and offensive play caller. while the front office was playing things coy with him regarding a salary that only had $1.9M of guaranteed money.
* Meanwhile, having to watch new head coach Mike LaFleur, after getting spurned by Jimmy Garopollo in free agency, sign Gardner Minshew to a 1-year contract with $5.1M guaranteed.
* Watching the Cardinals draft Carson Beck with the #65 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
* Watching the Cardinals retain OLC Justin Frye when they could have done what the Cowboys did with their play calling HC --- hire one of the best veteran OLCs in the league to be the team's OC.
These were the actions of an organization that were making it clear that Jacoby Brissett, despite winning the complete trust and faith of his teammates as their QB1 of choice, that his future with the franchise has, much to the delight of his dissenters, already been pre-determined, as a fait accompli, as it were.
Mike LaFleur's New Offensive System --- also a tough blow for not only Jacoby but so many of his teammates.
Mike LaFleur's offense is nothing of what I thought it would be. It is beyond vanilla, small-ball and completely uncreative. In the pre-season, it was the opposite. What a tease. The OL was kicking ass. Penalties were not killing drives. The passing attack was aggressive and multi-layered. The RBs were being shot out of a cannon. Drives were being regularly sustained. No signs of the "3rd and Give Up" offense that LaFleur is currently calling.
There's no way Jacoby would throw immediate 2-yard passes on 3rd and 8s. Last year, no down and distance was too long for him as he continuously threw past the sticks, to the tune of the Cardinals earning an NFL top 10 in 3rd down conversion percentage. These short of the sticks passes are LaFleur's calls. Three of which (3rd and Give Ups) he made in a row in Q2 with the lead.
Down 27-24, on a 3rd and 2 from the Cardinals' own 11-yard line, the pass that McBride didn't get the PI call, was a yard short of the sticks. If he catches it, are you okay going for it on 4th and 1?
Look at the last 4 passes of the game. The last two neither McBride nor Wilson ran a route into the end zone. Again, short of the line to gain in the most important of situations. These are serious coaching issues.
Virtually everything about the new offense after 4 games is in a state of havoc.
* Not having a creative role for J. Love.
* Not having disciplined route running which has caused Trey McBride and MHJ to take significant steps backward.
* What people fail to realize or acknowledge, in a timing passing offense when receivers saw off their routes too soon, that puts a huge burden on the QB. who is then forced to hurry his throws to spots that he hadn't envisioned.
* The OL, especially the right side is a 24/7 turnstile.
* There are too many penalties.
* Slower than urgent 2-minute drills.
* The much-dreaded return of the "3rd and Give Up" Offense that Petzing and Jacoby thankfully rectified for the final 12 games last season.
* Last in the NFL in explosive plays both passing and rushing.
2026 NFL QBs with the Least Time to Throw
| Rank | Player | Team | Time to Throw (Seconds) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jordan Love | Green Bay Packers | 2.16 |
| 2 | Tyler Shough | New Orleans Saints | 2.30 |
| 3 | Jacoby Brissett | Arizona Cardinals | 2.31 |
| 4 | Joe Burrow | Cincinnati Bengals | 2.31 |
| 5 | Dak Prescott | Dallas Cowboys | 2.31 |
But for Jacoby Brissett that correlation should not matter?
How many Cardinals' players are thriving in this new offense?
Paris Johnson Jr. (now lost for the season, dammit)
Michael Wilson
Elijah Higgins
Week 5 starters on the offensive line:
LT Jayden Williams - 62.1
LG Isaac Seumalo - 62.9
C Hjalte Froholdt - 57.8
RG Jon Gaines II - 60.8
RT Elijah Wilkinson - 50.0
Shhh, However, for Jacoby Brissett There Are Surprising Positives
Do you know which starter on the Cardinals offense has the highest PFF grade?
Answer: Jacoby Brissett - 79.2 (which is #11 for QBs with 3+ starts)
Not so terrible, eh?
Wait, there's more.
* Jacoby has helped put up 26 (@ LA), 30 (@ SF) and 24 (@ NY) points in 3 of the 4 games (all 3 road games).
That's not too shabby now, is it?
* His QB-RTG of 83.2 is #16 among QBs (who have 4 starts) --- is right behind Jalen Hurts' and Jordan Love' --- and is AHEAD of
A. Rodgers
C. Ward,
M, Stafford
B. Nix
B. Mayfield
D. Jones
K. Murray
M. Willis
D. Maye
J. Herbert.
* Jacoby's QBR of 63.4 is 12th in NFL for 4-game starters ahead of:
12. --- 64.3 Jacoby Brissett
13. --- 62.3 Tyler Shough
14. --- 60.5 Jalen Hurts
15. --- 60.5 Geno Smith
16. --- 60.5 Matthew Stafford
17. --- 58.6 Deshawn Watson
18. --- 58.4 C.J. Stroud
19. --- 54.6 Jordan love
20. --- 52.9 Cam Ward
21. --- 44.7 Bo Nix
22. --- 46.1 Aaron Rodgers
23. --- 44.5 Malik Willis
24. --- 38.5 Daniel Jones
25. --- 37.4 Sam Darnold
26. --- 36.3 Baker Mayfield
27. --- 33.3 Jameis Winston
28. --- 28.0 Justin Herbert
29. --- 27.6 Kyler Murray
NFC West QBRs Through 4 Games
1. Brock Purdy - 89.7
2. Jacoby Brissett - 64.3
3. Matthew Stafford - 60.5
4. Sam Darnold - 37.4
The Point Is
These are positives that Cardinals' tankers do not want anyone to know.
The propaganda is --- Jacoby Brissett is the worst starting QB in the NFL, which, or course, is patently false.
What the tankers fear the most is that, as resilient and determined as Jacoby is, he will prevail to the convincing point where his teammates will vehemently and passionately want him to remain their QB1 next season.
Tankers are telling you to listen to them --- don't listen one iota to the players.
That's why the tankers will keep pointing at a won-loss record that quite frankly few QBs could have physically survived, let alone handled the fact that over Jacoby's 16 starts the Cardinals' defense has given up:
@ IND --- 31
GB --- 27
@ DAL --- 17
@ SEA --- 44
SF --- 41
JAX --- 27
@ TB --- 20
LAR --- 45
@ HOU --- 40
ATL --- 26
@ CIN --- 37
@ LAR --- 37
@ LAC --- 14
SEA --- 31
@ SF --- 36
@ NYG --- 30
Ave: 31.4 ppg
Is it by pure coincidence that the team's 2 wins during this 16-game span were the only 2 times the defense held the opponents to under 20 points?
This just in --- good defense is a starting QBs best friend.
2026 NFL Defenses Allowing the Most Points Per Game
| Rank | Team | Opponent Points Per Game (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| 32 |  New Orleans Saints | 32.0 |
| 31 | Detroit Lions | 31.8 |
| 30 |  Washington Commanders | 30.5 |
| 29 | Arizona Cardinals | 29.3 |
| 28 | Dallas Cowboys | 28.0 |
| =26 |  Houston Texans | 27.3 |
| =26 |  Carolina Panthers | 27.3 |
| 25 |  Buffalo Bills | 26.8 |
| 24 |  Los Angeles Chargers | 26.5 |
| 23 | Green Bay Packers | 26.3 |
The defense is what Cardinals' fans should focus their discussions on --- not Jacoby Brissett.
2026 Offensive DVOA - Arizona Cardinals - 12th
2026 Defensive DVOA - Arizona Cardinals - 29th
But tankers avoid talking about the defense because the defense is working on their behalf.
Parting question to Cardinals' tankers --- how is "Tank for Marv" working out?
As they say, "bad karma's a bitch."
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