TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Cardinals' locker room couldn't keep the sound in after the team's 47-24 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
There was hooting and hollering, yells and cheers. The celebration of scoring the franchise's most points in nine years and sweeping the 49ers for the first time in three seasons was lively on Sunday evening.
It was the last of a few high points for the Cardinals (8-9) in a season full of ups and downs, but one that they want to use as a launch pad into a critical offseason as coach Jonathan Gannon and general manager Monti Ossenfort head into their third year together. Before they plan how to divvy out somewhere in the range of $80 million in cap space, the Cardinals need to figure out what went wrong in 2024.
Arizona was alone atop the NFC West between Weeks 9-11 while putting together a four-game winning streak. But, it finished the season 2-5, making 2024 the third straight season without a winning record.
"We made progress, but at the end of the day, we want to be in the playoffs," veteran linebacker Kyzir White said. "We know we're good enough to be in the playoffs. We just didn't do enough to get it done."
When Gannon addressed the Cardinals for the last time as a team on Monday morning, he expressed his disappointment that they weren't preparing for a playoff game. He shouldered the responsibility for that happening but was also realistic.
"I also told them the game is fair," Gannon said. "We shouldn't be playing right now. It's tough to take on the chin but I think when you can take it on the chin like that you should improve, grow, learn and become better."
Since they were eliminated from the postseason in Week 16, the Cardinals' mood has been a mix of disappointment and optimism.
During his pregame speech at the team hotel Saturday night, quarterback Kyler Murray talked about how time is fleeting. Part of his message was about how games in September and October may seem minor compared to the pressure and intensity of December and January, but mishaps in the first half of the year could derail postseason hopes.
"You let a couple slip and you look up at the end of the season, you're two games away," Murray said. "It's like, s---. So, excited where we're going."
Murray said the team's inconsistencies cost them late in the season. He feels like Arizona could and should have won more games early on. The Cardinals lost to two teams that made the postseason -- the Buffalo Bills in Week 1 and the Detroit Lions in Week 3 -- by a touchdown or less. Those losses contributed to a 1-3 start, which turned into 2-4 by the middle of October following a 34-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 6.
Arizona then had a turning point starting in Week 7: It beat the Los Angeles Chargers, Miami Dolphins, Chicago Bears and New York Jets. The Cardinals averaged 29.3 points per game from Weeks 8-10 and gave up 14 points per game.
"I thought the response of the team was really good," Gannon said.
Then, a second turning point occurred: They had a bye in Week 11. By the end of Week 14, the Cardinals had lost three in a row -- including two losses to the Seattle Seahawks -- and were tied for last place in the division. Gannon doesn't know what happened during the bye that flipped the season.
"We treated the bye week this year like we did last year," Gannon said. "It's something that we'll look into. I liked where it fell, honestly, and I know we won four games going into it, but it's something we'll take a look at because we haven't played exactly our brand of ball consistently from the bye on.
"I don't feel good where we've been after the bye so I'm going to look at myself first."
To right guard Evan Brown, it felt like the Cardinals were "just not connected for whatever reason" after the bye. There were also small things that were amiss, he said.
Gannon believes the winning and losing streaks took a mental toll on his team. He said when he begins to dissect the season, the Cardinals' psychological stamina will be evaluated as well as the team's schedule, and tweaks will be made.
"I think that, for myself, something that we're going to have to take a look at ... but your stress and distress of winning four and handling that," Gannon said. "Because say what you want [but when] you're on a roll there, that takes a little bit out of you. Then the stress of losing three in a row, that takes something out of you, too."
During that process, Gannon will look at what happened from his standpoint and nobody else's. While he's convinced that Arizona is on the right path and believes in the processes he's put in place, Gannon said "it would be foolish to think we don't need to adjust and improve."
"I think that's a perfect way to describe the season, a rollercoaster," Brown said. "It had its ups and downs, twists and turns, left and right. At times, we were not great. At times, we were really good as an offense and as a unit and as a team."
Gannon knows they're on the precipe of being the team he wants and knows they can be even with the disappointment of this season. Regardless, he knows what will define 2024: Wins and losses. There weren't enough of one and too many of the other.
"You kind of take from your experiences and what's in your brain and what's in your heart," he said. "Obviously, losing is not fun, but I do think that you can learn and grow from it and use it as a positive experience. ... I feel like we're closer to being able to win more games than we have done. I know it's a bottom-line business, and I understand that. I'm the first one to tell you that, but I think it's very evident and clear where we want to be and how we need to get there."