TEMPE – Even the Cardinals gave themselves mixed reviews Monday.
“We have high expectations of ourselves, so we know some parts of the game we did really well and some parts of the game we didn’t do as well,” Cardinals center Hjalte Froholdt said about his team’s 27-22 victory over the Carolina Panthers and quarterback Bryce Young in their 2025 home opener at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
Arizona led 27-3 in the third quarter before allowing the Panthers to rally in a game that ultimately came down to the final possession. Still, with victories over the New Orleans Saints and the Panthers, the Cardinals are 2-0 to start a season for the first time since 2021, when the club started 7-0.
Better to learn from a win than a loss, especially for the Cardinals, who haven’t reached the playoffs since that 2021 season.
The manner in which the game played out, particularly in the second half, gave the Cardinals the opportunity to reflect and improve after a win, an enviable position.
“I think our expectations are that we need to put it (the game) away quicker,” Froholdt said. “We had several chances to do it, and we just need to execute a little bit better, but a lot of good stuff to learn from that.”
Young’s three second-half touchdown passes made what appeared to be headed toward a blowout victory for Arizona into a one-score game.
However, after Carolina recovered an onside kick, a fourth-down sack from Arizona defensive end Calais Campbell with 26 seconds remaining sealed the win.
Froholdt believes the mindset in the building after a win like Sunday’s is a reason to be bullish for the weeks ahead.
“It doesn’t look as good as we want it to be, and we need to be better, even though we won,” he said. “I think that speaks volumes. It came down to the last couple of seconds, but guys got to make plays. I’m more optimistic about it than anything, because everyone’s taking it upon themselves to improve.”
For the Cardinals, the process of identifying things to clean up after Sunday’s victory is already underway and yielding results.
“We had a good day today, as far as showing up and pointing out things we have to do a better job of to not have that game be as close as it was,” Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said. “It is all correctable. It really is.”
The entire team is involved in the improvement process, with no blame being placed anywhere as the group, instead, highlights areas to focus on during practice.
“It is the ultimate team sport,” Froholdt said. “I think everybody’s involved. There’s a lot of different things, and I think everybody’s taking accountability. There’s no pointing of fingers today. Everybody is being like, ‘Hey, I can be better. There is a couple of plays that I can be better’.”
Froholdt himself was quick to highlight things he noticed from his performance Sunday that he wants to tweak, detailing how improvement for NFL players is a week-long process.
“We had a big drive and I pulled a penalty,” Froholdt said. “That was bad. Bad ball. I didn’t stick to my technique, and I need to be better. I will be (better).
“I wrote it down in my notes and I’m going to take it into this week and I am going to harp on it Wednesday, Thursday and Friday so I can go into the game on Sunday and say ‘I feel comfortable with this and I know exactly where it is that I need to be better.’ I know that is what everybody’s planning on doing.”
With two NFC West Division games coming up next on the schedule, Froholdt underscored the importance of starting a season fast, which his team has done, regardless of style points.
“It is an interesting feeling right now. I mean, we’re 2-0, so I’m pretty stoked about it,” Froholdt said. “We’re heading into divisional (play) right now, so I think it’s an amazing place to be. It’s awesome.”
The Cardinals will travel to San Francisco to take on the 2-0 49ers this Sunday, a team Froholdt is familiar with and impressed by, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.
“I think the 49ers are coached really well,” Froholdt said. “They understand what they need to do, and they’re very strict in their rules. We know that they’re a very well-coached team and a vet team. The front seven is good. The back-end is good. The (line)backers are really good.”
Froholdt will carry his aforementioned optimism into this Week 3 divisional matchup, enthused by what he has seen so far from his teammates this season.
“I’m optimistic. We have got so much talent on our team,” Froholdt said. “I am so excited. I’m just stoked to be able to go out there another week.”
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