Are the Arizona Cardinals legitimate NFC contenders?
By Evan Massey
The Arizona Cardinals took care of business yesterday afternoon against the San Francisco 49ers, and ended up pulling out a 23-14 win. They are one of the final teams left that are undefeated, and at 3-0 are currently sitting in first place in the NFC West. Obviously they haven’t gone up against amazing competition, but both the San Diego Chargers and 49ers are worthy opponents.
With the early success that the Cardinals have had so far, the question of whether or not they are legitimate contenders in the NFC has to be raised.
Arizona has one of the better defenses in the NFL, but they could use some improvement on their defense against aerial attacks. That being said, they still have plenty of playmakers in their secondary that are more than capable of forcing turnovers. If they are able to improve a bit more against the pass, they will be an incredible difficult team to move the football against.
Offensively there are still quite a few question marks, but they have been good enough to get the job done. Carson Palmer missed yesterday’s game due to injury, but Drew Stanton was able to step up and play a big game to lead the Cardinals to victory. Arizona has the talent on offense to outscore some teams, and they have more room to grow in the future as well.
Andre Ellington has the ability to break a big play every single time that he touches the ball, and he has been fairly effective this season. The Cardinals are right in the middle of the pack in nearly every offensive statistic, which isn’t a terrible place to be due to the strong defense that they have displayed through the first three games as well. Arizona also currently has the third ranked rush defense in the league so far.
Larry Fitzgerald is still the face of the Cardinals’ offense, but has begun to slow down. He needs to figure out how to get back to being the dominant receiver that he has been throughout his career in order to help the offense live up to the potential that they have. Patrick Peterson is the franchise player on the defensive side of the football, and he is in his prime and playing some of the best football of his career.
Palmer and Stanton certainly aren’t quarterbacks that many analysts and fans would expect to lead a team to a Super Bowl. They don’t have huge arms and they haven’t had a ton of success throughout their careers. While those things are certainly true, they are both very good game managers, and sometimes that has proven to be exactly what teams need.
Obviously the Cardinals are still playing in the NFL’s toughest division, and that will be one thing that could keep them from contending in the NFC. They will have to beat out the Seahawks and 49ers throughout the course of the regular season, which will be much easier said than done. The Cardinals will also have to play against the Denver Broncos, Atlanta Falcons, and Philadelphia Eagles, which will all be difficult games.
Can the Cardinals contend in the NFC? Absolutely they can if they are able to play up to their full potential, but there are a lot of difficulties facing them in order to get there. They will have to figure out how to be a bit more consistent offensively, and their defense will need to play better against the pass.
There is absolutely no question that they have the necessary talent put together to make a run in the NFC. They showed yesterday against the 49ers that they should be mentioned along with the best in the NFC West. Head coach Bruce Arians is one of the most underrated coaches in football, and he has his players playing as hard as they possibly can with a lot of spirit and passion.
At this point in time, the Cardinals are not favored to end up winning the division when everything is said and done. Seattle is still the team to beat until they are dethroned, but the Cardinals are a team to keep an eye on as a darkhorse. If they are able to begin playing to their full potential, they are the type of team that could shock the world and make a surprising run to a Super Bowl appearance.
So back to the question of whether or not the Cardinals are legitimate contenders in the NFC. The answer is a very simple, yes.
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