The Arizona Cardinals are in an undeniably frustrating position following Sunday’s 36-24 loss to the New York Giants.
Arizona is now 1-3, but are in a reasonable enough position to wonder if they could be 3-1 instead.
Head coach Mike LaFleur was always going to have work cut out for him in his first season in the role. While growth is on display in certain areas, there’s much work to be done over the final 13 games.
Where Cardinals Stand in Power Rankings
ESPN: 29
Bleacher Report: 27
CBS Sports: 25
The Cardinals actually rose one spot in the Bleacher Report version, signifying just how poorly other teams are performing at the moment.
While there are signs of Arizona turning into a solid team over the course of the season, the consensus seems to be uniform – the team is simply making too many simple errors that are costing them winnable games.
Beyond this, there is a two-fold concern between the offense and defense. Offensively, the unit is operating in a decent manner with Jacoby Brissett under center. However, the limitations Brissett owns are preventing the group from becoming an elite one. The evidence is in Michael Wilson and Trey McBride being amongst the shallowest aDOT (average depth of target) recipients in the NFL.
Defensively, it appears as if Arizona simply doesn’t have any way to crack the code of opposing offenses. Whether this is a personnel or coaching – or both – issue is up for debate. What isn’t up for debate is that it is unacceptable to give up multiple 30+ yard passing plays to a Jameis Winston led offense.
Does Arizona Have Upward Mobility?
The next seven weeks are absolutely brutal for the Cardinals – there is no other way around it.
This run starts on Sunday, when Arizona welcomes the Detroit Lions to Glendale. Beyond this, the Cardinals play the Rams (twice), Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks, and Kansas City Chiefs.
During this time, the Cardinals face several elite offenses and defenses alike. They run into divisional rival Seattle at a time that the team might be turning a corner health-wise. The Cowboys are boasting the most efficient offense in football at this time. Facing Patrick Mahomes is never fun either, but the Chiefs appear to be a new team independent of the former MVP.
There isn’t much hope for Arizona to grind out wins here, but there is potential to stack momentum in the second half of the year. Matchups in the latter half of the year include the Washington Commanders, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, and Las Vegas Raiders. None of those meetings are “easy” wins for Arizona, but each one seems to be an attainable victory.
The other upside of the closing stretch? The fact that the Cardinals will likely turn to rookie Carson Beck to lead the offense by this point.
While Arizona won’t win many games this year, there are ways to build optimism ahead of the offseason.
Arizona Cardinals Continue Tumbling Down in Week Five NFL Power Rankings