Kliff Kingsbury might have cracked a smile only once during his postgame video chat with reporters on Sunday following the Cardinals’ 30-20 victory over the New York Jets.

It happened when someone mentioned to him how backup outside linebacker Dennis Gardeck, getting his first defensive snaps of his career, he reminded members of the Jets during his two-sack performance at MetLife Stadium that he was “just a special-teams player.”

“I see it every day in practice,” Kingsbury said after a quick laugh. “He is hell on wheels going on scout team against our offensive line and they hate trying to block him because he is nonstop, he is relentless and that’s what you saw out there today.”

There were plenty of other things to like about what the Cardinals (3-2) were able to do against the sinking Jets (0-5). First of all, Arizona snapped a two-game losing streak, beating a bad New York team by 20 points.

Kyler Murray passed for a career-high 380 yards. DeAndre Hopkins had his third game of 130 or more receiving yards (131) after having none of those last year with the Texans. Chase Edmonds proved once again he probably deserves a lot more playing time. And the defense more than held its own, especially in the first half when it was still a close game.

Overall, though, you could tell Kingsbury wasn’t overjoyed despite the rout. Neither was Murray, which is important to remember.

Part of it was because they both know the Cardinals can be better. Once again, there were too many penalties (10 for 59 yards). Once again, there were more missed assignments on defense. And once again, there were mistakes and near-calamities on special teams. Those things will get you beat against good teams, and the Cardinals’ upcoming schedule if full of them.

“Any time you go on the road and can handle your business, that’s what we wanted to do,” Kingsbury said, sounding less than satisfied. “A lot to clean up, but I felt we played with a lot more energy, a lot more intensity throughout the week as well, and came in here with the right mindset and were able to get it done.

“We have to continue to get better, continue to build. But the guys were focused all week, so that was a big step in the right direction.”

Here’s another reason why Kingsbury was of somber mood: He might have just lost his best pass rusher for the rest of the year. Outside linebacker Chandler Jones suffered a biceps injury during the second quarter and if a tear is confirmed, Kingsbury said, “that will probably be a season-ending injury.”

The Cardinals also lost their two starting guards, Justin Pugh and J.R. Sweezy, at different points in the game and they’ve already been dealing with an assortment of other injuries to key players at important positions.

Add those all up along with the fact the Cardinals still haven’t played at their best once this season, and it’s difficult to get too terribly excited about things. Especially considering how the COVID-19 crisis has reared its ugly head lately throughout the NFL.

What happens if the regular-season schedule gets shortened because of the pandemic? It’s a possibility, putting that much more importance on each and every game. It’s also a reason why the Cardinals are kicking themselves for losing back-to-back games against the Lions and Panthers before this one, as they realize the impact those two losses could ultimately have on their chances of reaching the postseason.

Style points didn’t matter on Sunday, given the embarrassment of the past two weeks.

“We definitely needed a win. This was a must-win game just to get back on track,” said Edmonds, who ran for a 29-yard touchdown and also caught five passes for 56 yards. “We obviously had two salty losses, just got outplayed those last two weeks. I think more so in the Carolina game, we kind of let the Detroit game really affect us.

“I mean guys were just so sick to their stomach that we played that bad and that we let a loss kind of carry over to the next week. So, it was important for us to just come out, really get in a rhythm as an offense as a whole and try to find a win, and the defense obviously played their ass off with 10 points given up.”

The Cardinals stopped the Jets in the red zone twice during the first half, including a stuff on fourth-and-1 from the Cardinals’ 13-yard line. They held New York to a field goal on its ensuing possession, which got as close as the Arizona 8.

“I felt like the defense responded like a good defense should,” said Cardinals safety Budda Baker, who led the team with 10 tackles in his first game back from thumb surgery. “… We definitely had some plays that we let go, but for the most part, we did a good job.”

The Cardinals scored touchdowns on drives of 89, 75, 70 and 96 yards as Murray threw for one touchdown and ran for another and Kenyan Drake, like Edmonds, also rushed for a score. Arizona broke things open in the third quarter after the Jets had cut the deficit to 17-10 on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to Jamison Crowder.

Facing a fourth-and-1 from their own 39, Kingsbury called for a play-action throw to tight end Darrell Daniels, who was left wide open for a 31-yard gain. It was the key play during a steady drive capped by Drake’s 1-yard run, his second touchdown of the season. At 24-10, the Cardinals never looked back.

“It definitely helps from a confidence standpoint, going out there and handling business and winning a game that we know we’re supposed to win,” wide receiver Christian Kirk said.

They weren’t counting on potentially losing Jones, the sack artist, for the remainder of the season. Although he hadn’t recorded a sack since Week 1, Jones is constantly a threat for whom opposing offensive coordinators always have to game-plan.

If he is, indeed, lost for the season, “It’s hard for me to put into words,” Kirk said.

Yes, the Cardinals won like they we’re supposed to on Sunday, but it doesn’t mean they’re happy about it. They’re still not where they want to be or expect to be.

“I don’t want anybody on the team to feel satisfied with what happened today, just because that’s not what it’s going to be every weekend and I hope everyone now that,” Murray said. “Sundays aren’t easy. We’ve got a good Dallas Cowboys team we’ve got to play on Monday next week and there’s going to be a lot of adversity and we’re going to have to fight it and stick through it and stay together.

“I’m with coach. My head’s down, I’m staying on the grind and I think that’s got to be the mindset of this team just because any given Sunday you can lose and I think we’ve experienced that.”

Have an opinion on the Arizona Cardinals? Reach McManaman at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @azbobbymac. Listen to him live on Fox Sports 910-AM every Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 on Calling All Sports with Roc and Manuch and every Wednesday night from 7-9 on The Freaks with Kenny and Crash.

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