Due to injuries in the backfield, the Arizona Cardinals are using their third and fourth string players. RB James Conner suffered a season-ending injury in Week 3 with the 49ers.
Additionally, backup Trey Benson suffered a knee injury in Week 4 and was placed on IR. In the fourth quarter of Week 5 vs. Tennessee, Emari DeMercado accidentally dropped the ball before crossing the goal line. This negated the touchdown that put the Cardinals up by three scores. Coach Jonathan Gannon became angry on the sideline and confronted DeMercado. On Tuesday morning, NFL Insider reported that Gannon publicly apologized to Emari DeMercado for his sideline outburst.
Jonathan Gannon reflected on his violent sideline incident with RB Emari Demercado
Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon apologized to Emari Demercado at Monday’s team meeting for his reaction after running the football before crossing the goal line for what would have been a 72-yard touchdown.
via story @joshweinfuss: https://t.co/eumfwzyuv5
-Adam Scha After (@adamscha after) October 7, 2025
Up 21-6 in the fourth quarter of Week 5, Emari DeMercado took a handoff from Kyler Murray on third-and-one. DeMercado broke through the line untouched and had a clear path to the end zone. Despite rushing for 72 yards, Emari DeMercado made a huge mistake. Before he could fully cross the goal line, the third-year pro dropped the ball. A Cardinals touchdown would have been called back and they would have been up 28-6 with about 12:00 minutes left.
According to ESPN, teams are 1,276-1 over the past 25 seasons when they go up 22 points in the fourth quarter. Instead of taking a three-score lead, the Cardinals held a 21-6 advantage. After Emari DeMercado’s disallowed fumble, he was seen being consoled on the sideline by lineman Paris Johnson Jr.
Also. #cardinals RB Emari Demercado had a 76-yard TD, but gave the ball away before it crossed the goal line and it was a touchback.
how is this happening? !
– Ari Meirov (@mysportsupdate) October 5, 2025
That’s when director Jonathan Gannon spotted DeMercado on the sideline and had him take it. The 26-year-old running back cost the Cardinals a valuable touchdown in the fourth quarter. Gannon was seen in DeMercado’s face and even made contact with his right arm as he walked away. After reflecting on the incident, Jonathan Gannon said, “I woke up this morning and honestly didn’t feel good.”
Arizona’s head coach addressed the team on Monday and publicly apologized to RB Emari Demercado. Jontan Gannon said he let his moment get better. It wasn’t a great look for Gannon on the sideline. At 2-3, the Cardinals have a tough two-game stretch ahead of them. They face the Colts in Week 6 and head to the Green Bay Packers in Week 7. Lose 3 straight games and fall to 2-5?
