Football is a game of inches, but sometimes it’s a game of inches and a whole lot of weirdness. If you watched the Arizona Cardinals vs Green Bay Packers matchup on October 19, 2025, you know exactly what I mean. It wasn’t just a win for Green Bay. It was a 27-23 escape act.
Honestly, the Packers had no business winning that game for about 58 minutes. They were sloppy. They were late. They literally arrived in Arizona five hours behind schedule because of plane trouble. You could see it in the first quarter—they looked like they were still trying to find their legs in the Glendale heat. Arizona, playing without Kyler Murray (who was sidelined with a foot injury), should have buried them early. Jacoby Brissett was dealing. He was poised. He looked like the veteran savior the Cardinals needed, yet somehow, the Packers found a way to flip the script at the very end.
The Micah Parsons Effect in Glendale
You can’t talk about this game without talking about Micah Parsons. Usually, when a team gives up 279 passing yards to a backup quarterback, you’re looking at the secondary. But Parsons decided he was the secondary, the line, and the emotional core of the team all at once. He ended the day with three sacks.
The last one was the killer.
With 32 seconds left and the Cardinals at the Green Bay 26-yard line, the stadium was shaking. It felt like Arizona was finally going to break their "close loss" curse. Then Parsons came flying around the edge like he’d been shot out of a cannon. He sacked Brissett for a 9-yard loss, forcing Arizona to burn their second-to-last timeout. It sucked the air right out of the building.
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- Final Stats for Parsons: 3 sacks, 4 tackles for loss, 5 QB hurries.
- The Critical Play: A 4th-and-1 stop on a Brissett QB sneak with six minutes left.
- The Result: Green Bay got the ball back and drove 48 yards for the winning score.
It was one of those performances where one player simply refuses to let his team lose.
Josh Jacobs and the "Ugly" Winning Drive
Josh Jacobs was a game-time decision. His calf was acting up, and for the first half, he looked like he was running through mud. But when the Packers needed a yard, they went to him. And they went to him again. And again.
The game-winning drive was a 10-play masterpiece of "boring" football. While everyone wanted Jordan Love to air it out, Matt LaFleur kept it on the ground. Jacobs punched in a 1-yard touchdown with 1:50 remaining to give the Packers their first lead of the entire day. Imagine that. You trail for 58 minutes and only lead when it actually matters.
It was Jacobs' third straight game with two touchdowns. Even when he’s not putting up 150 yards, he’s finding the paint. That’s the difference between a good back and a guy who wins you games in October.
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Why Arizona Keeps Losing These Heartbreakers
If you're a Cardinals fan, this season has been a special kind of torture. The loss to Green Bay dropped them to 2-5, but here is the stat that will make you want to throw your remote: Arizona became only the third team in NFL history to lose five straight games by four points or less.
They are right there. Every. Single. Week.
Trey McBride was arguably the best player on the field not named Micah Parsons. He caught 10 passes for 74 yards and two touchdowns. He was open on basically every third down. But the Cardinals' offensive line let them down when it mattered most, allowing six sacks on Brissett. You can’t expect a 33-year-old backup to survive that kind of pressure forever. Eventually, the dam breaks.
Historical Context: Why This Rivalry Always Gets Weird
The Arizona Cardinals vs Green Bay Packers history isn't just about 2025. It’s a series that dates back to 1921 when the Cardinals were the "Racine Cardinals" based in Chicago. Since then, Green Bay leads the series 47-26-4, but the most famous games have been absolute fever dreams.
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Think back to the 2009 Wild Card game. That was the highest-scoring playoff game in history—a 51-45 Cardinals win in overtime. Kurt Warner threw more touchdowns (5) than incompletions (4). Then you have the 2015 Divisional Round where Aaron Rodgers threw two "Hail Mary" passes on the same drive just to force overtime, only for Larry Fitzgerald to end it on a 75-yard catch-and-run a few seconds later.
There is something about these two teams in the desert that creates chaos. The 2025 game fit right into that lineage. It wasn't 51-45, but it had a 61-yard franchise-record field goal by Lucas Havrisik as time expired in the first half. It had fake punts. It had a fourth-down heave into the end zone that was batted away with six seconds left.
The Reality of the Rosters in 2026
Looking ahead at where these teams are going, the trajectories couldn't be more different. Green Bay is currently sitting at 4-1-1 and looks like a legitimate NFC contender. Jordan Love didn't have his best game (19-for-29, 179 yards), but he didn't turn the ball over. That’s growth.
The Cardinals, meanwhile, are in a weird spot. They have the talent. Michael Wilson and Marvin Harrison Jr. are a legit duo. Paris Johnson Jr. is a cornerstone at left tackle. But the depth just isn't there yet. When Kyler Murray goes down, the margin for error becomes zero.
Actionable Insights for Fans
If you're following these teams into the back half of the season, here is what you need to watch:
- Monitor the Kyler Murray Foot Injury: The Cardinals' season lives and dies with his mobility. If he’s not 100%, their "close losses" will continue to be losses.
- Watch the Packers' Pass Rush: With Micah Parsons and Rashan Gary, Green Bay has a top-three duo in the league. They are covering up for a secondary that still has some communication issues.
- Trey McBride is a Fantasy Lock: He is the primary target in Arizona regardless of who is under center. If he’s on your waiver wire (unlikely) or available for trade, get him.
- Green Bay’s Kicking Situation: Lucas Havrisik was a mid-season signing and just nailed a 61-yarder. He might have just solved a multi-year headache for the Packers' front office.
The Arizona Cardinals vs Green Bay Packers matchup was a reminder that in the NFL, "better" doesn't always win. "Clutch" does. And right now, the Packers have the clutch gene while the Cardinals are still looking for it in the desert sand.