5 NFL teams that could be surprise Super Bowl contenders

2. Arizona Cardinals 

An NFC West team had represented the conference in the Super Bowl in five of the past eight seasons. The San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks have turned at trick twice, the former just a year ago, and the Los Angeles Rams were in Super Bowl LIII in 2018. The one exception from the division is the Arizona Cardinals, who got as far as the NFC title game back in 2015 but haven’t been to the postseason since.

However, there’s a lot of excitement brewing in the desert as the Cards made some improvements on defense and are hoping they can pick up where they left off on offense last year thanks to the impact that new head coach Kliff Kingsbury and 2019 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Kyler Murray had in their debuts with the franchise.

Running back Kenyan Drake helps ensure that this is not a one-dimensional offense, and the team went out and made a huge deal in acquiring wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Houston Texans. The Cardinals also used the eighth overall pick in April’s draft to grab one of the top defenders in college football this past season in Clemson University linebacker Isaiah Simmons.

Rebounding in the NFC West doesn’t figure to be easy, but it can be done. Just ask last year’s 49ers.