5 surprise NFL contenders through Week 4
By Ethan Lee
No. 1: Kliff Kingsbury has helped turn the Arizona Cardinals into a balanced team that is winning
The Arizona Cardinals were far from great when Kliff Kingsbury was hired. Kingsbury stepped in and inherited a 3-13 team. Though it seemed like a gamble to hire a guy who couldn’t consistently win at Texas Tech, in Kingsbury’s third season, the Cardinals are off to a 4-0 start and are the last remaining unbeaten team in the NFL.
Though Arizona’s remarkable offense is often the main discussion point for this team this year, the Cardinals are fairly balanced and currently are holding their opponents to 21.3 points per game, which is good for ninth in the NFL.
The Cardinals’ Air Raid-inspired offense also isn’t as passing dominated as many would expect. It’s worth noting how balanced Arizona can be.
Though quarterback Kyler Murray has thrown for 1,273 yards, nine touchdowns, and four interceptions while completing 76 percent of his passes, Arizona has also run for 546 yards and seven touchdowns on the season. In their 37-20 win over the Los Angeles Rams, the Cardinals ran for 216 yards and two touchdowns.
It’s still really early, but there’s a strong argument to be made that Arizona has the best offense in the NFL this season. So far, the Cardinals are averaging 35 points per game, which is the best in the league.
Given how good Arizona’s offense has looked, and when considering how the defense is doing more than enough to give opposing teams some headaches, nobody should be shocked to see that the point difference between the Cardinals and their opponents sits at 55 points after four games. That’s the best point differential in the NFL right now and it isn’t particularly close.
Kingsbury has his team off to a hot start and it feels as if the Cardinals will be able to make a run in the playoffs this season.