Minshew Mania might be a mirage, but Cardinals' gritty culture is starting to look real

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Running back Jeremiyah Love got hurt in the first half, quarterback Jacoby Brissett got benched in the second half and Chad Ryland missed a potential game-winning extra point in the final seconds of the fourth quarter.

For much of Sunday, it looked like another frustrating day of Arizona Cardinal-ing for these Arizona Cardinals.

But during one of the more improbable afternoons in recent franchise history, a patchwork offense, led by backup quarterback Gardner Minshew, clawed back from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter and persevered in overtime to beat the Dallas Cowboys 33-30.

“I don’t know if there’s any words that I can express about this team right now other than they’re resilient,” first-year coach Mike LaFleur said. “They just keep fighting. They’re always in the fight. That was a total, total team effort right there.”

The 30-year-old Minshew earned a reputation for dramatic wins early in his career and added another highlight against the Cowboys, throwing for 188 yards and three touchdowns in less than a half.

LaFleur said on Monday that Minshew will be team's starter moving forward. Rookie Carson Beck will be the backup and Brissett will be the emergency third-string option.

Minshew's emergence and the surprise win don't really change the Cardinals' season outlook — they have a 3-5 record and are still a beat-up bunch that lacks talent in key areas. Getting to seven or eight wins feels like the ceiling, and even that might be a stretch considering the avalanche of injuries the team has suffered in recent weeks.

But the competitive spirit under LaFleur is a welcome sign for a franchise that hasn't been to the playoffs since 2021 and hasn't won a postseason game since 2015. It's the second time in three weeks the Cardinals have pulled off an unexpected win; they beat the Rams 18-16 on the road on Oct. 18.

Receiver Michael Wilson is one example of the culture LaFleur is trying to build. The 26-year-old played through the pain of two broken ribs on Sunday and finished with eight catches for 111 yards, including a 13-yard TD catch from Minshew that forced overtime.

“It's easy to show up in the NFL when you're winning, when you're playing great, you'll get every one's best personality,” Wilson said. “The true measure of yourself, your coaches, your teammates, is how do they respond with they're not playing 100 percent because they're hurt or they had a bad play or maybe coach isn't calling the game the right way. When stuff is (bad), that's when you find out who your are as a person and as a man.

“I could not be more proud to be an Arizona Cardinal under a team led by Mike LaFleur.”

What’s working

Minshew wasn't the only player who had a clutch performance on Sunday. The Cardinals showcased some depth, with third-string left tackle Josh Fryar, backup right guard Hayden Conner and running back Tyler Allgeier playing well in expanded roles.

Center Hjalte Froholdt — who had two pancake blocks on safety Caleb Downs during a long run by Allgeier — said the run of bad injury luck on Sunday made everyone just focus on their jobs.

“We were down so many guys and everyone's just like, 'OK, I don’t know where I'm going to be lined up, I don't really know what position I'll be at, but I know my playbook, I can trust my technique, I can trust what my rules are,' and then guys just went out and executed,” he said.

What needs help

The defense played well when it needed to get stops in the fourth quarter and overtime, but the unit still gave up 30 points or more for the sixth time in seven games.

Stock up

Allgeier has been a very good running back for the past 4 1/2 seasons, but he's never had a game like Sunday. The 26-year-old set career highs with 191 yards from scrimmage and 147 yards rushing against the Cowboys, playing a huge chunk of the snaps because he was the team's only healthy rusher for a big chunk of the game.

Stock down

The Cardinals' 2026 draft class is beat up. Love was expected to give the team an elite offensive option after he was selected with the No. 3 overall pick in April, but ankle injuries have slowed his development. Second-round offensive lineman Chase Bisontis and fourth-round defensive lineman Kaleb Proctor were lost before the season because of knee injuries. Now fifth-round pick Reggie Virgil (back) and seventh-round left tackle Jayden Williams (knee) are also dealing with setbacks.

Injuries

Love has battled injuries to both ankles all season and LaFleur said that this was a new version of those problems. He could be headed to injured reserve. WR Kendrick Bourne (ankle) could be out for the season while RB Bam Knight (concussion), WR Reggie Virgil (back) and OT Jayden Williams (knee) were still being evaluated.

Key number

1996 — The last year before Sunday's game that a Cardinals QB threw three TD passes in the fourth quarter. Boomer Esiason accomplished the feat in a win over the Eagles in '96 and 30 years later, Minshew did it again.

Next steps

The Cardinals visit the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

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