Could the Arizona Cardinals Win the NFC Championship?

The Arizona Cardinals last played in an NFC Championship in 2015 and last clinched an NFC Championship in 2008. Here they are in 2020, a team with an 8-23-1 record over the past two seasons and a 25/1 medium-range shot to win the NFC.

The Cardinals are a popular Cinderella pick among NFL experts. And if you like making medium to long-range shots in your gambling, the Cardinals are a solid gamble.

They have an outstanding offense with talent of all ages all over the skill position realm. Their defense received a makeover, and they may boast one of the best one-two combinations of Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins.

However, they also face a strong NFC West, their defense must catch up in a training camp that features no preseason, and they have a few coast-to-coast trips to contend with.

Here are the six factors explained further. 

1 – Legends of K1 and Nuk

Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins aren’t the best quarterback-receiver duo in football yet. But that may change when Week 17 arrives if they can get the Cardinals somewhere near playoff contention.

Hopkins was one of the best receivers in football as a member of the Houston Texans, logging 104 receptions and 1,185 receiving yards along with 7 touchdowns.

Murray won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2019 and some, like NFL.com’s Greg Rosenthal, likened him as a hybrid between Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson, and Patrick Mahomes. It’s kind of a freakish comparison.

Although Murray, like most rookies, experienced an up-and-down season with subpar talent surrounding him, he also tossed for over 3,700 yards, threw for 20 touchdowns, and rushed for 544 yards. The only player in the NFL to throw for over 3,700 yards and rush for over 500 yards.

So, 4,300 all-purpose yards for a rookie should give plenty of reason for you to turn your head and expect a leap in 2020.

A Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes-sized leap?

Expect it.

Mahomes had the luxury to sit and watch behind Alex Smith during his rookie season in the Kansas City Chiefs. That’s something you rarely see from rookie quarterbacks these days. By Year 2, Chiefs coach Andy Reid plugged and played him.

Jackson had the luxury of a strong running game to help keep defenses off his back. It led him to an MVP season.

Given Murray’s experience that neither Mahomes nor Jackson had entering Year 2 plus the fact his passing mechanics are lightyears ahead of Jackson’s expect big things as he makes Hopkins his top receiver. 

2 – Getting Defensive

The Cardinals had the worst defense in football in 2019, giving up over 402 yards per game, which ranked 32nd in the league. They struggled in almost every major defensive category and didn’t rank in the top half of the league in any.

It was a nightmare season for every Cardinals defender not named Chandler Jones, who finished second in the league in sacks with 19. However, Jones’ 19 sacks made up almost half of the team’s total sacks, showing they lack an adequate pass rush.

The team wasted no time fixing this. They drafted jack-of-all-trades linebacker Isaiah Simmons and signed defensive end Jordan Phillips, linebacker De’Vondre Campbell, and local product Devon Kennard.

Many NFL draft boards ranked Simmons among the best and perhaps the most versatile, lining up at linebacker, safety, and even at times on offense.

Now that the team lost corner Robert Alford for a second straight season, there’s buzz floating around the desert that Simmons may end up in the defensive backfield.

Phillips had a career season with 9.5 sacks in 2019, which he spent with the Buffalo Bills.

Kennard recorded 14 sacks over the past two seasons. So, along with Phillips and Simmons, look for a dangerous pass rush.

The clear downside remains that the unit won’t play together until the games count in September. They also didn’t get enough practices, so the new players on defense are on a crash course.

The upside lies in corner Patrick Peterson, safety Budda Baker, and Jones, three veterans who know the system.

If the new faces mesh, look for an improved defense.

3 – Bear Market Schedule

Don’t envy this team’s weaker schedule, given the fact they play the East divisions. The clear upside rests in the fact the Cardinals either match or boast more talent than half of these teams.

The New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, Washington Football Team, and New York Giants aren’t thrilled to have the Cardinals, but it thrills the Cardinals to have them, at least until the cross-country road trips come into play.

The Cardinals may also match well with the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots, and Buffalo Bills. None of these teams overwhelm Zona from a talent standpoint, but each played well in 2019 and figure to contend for the playoffs in 2020.

Here is the issue:

The Cardinals have back to back-to-back road trips from October 4th to October 19th in Charlotte, New York, and Dallas.

Then, they go from a road game against Seattle to another road game against New England, before heading back home to play the Rams, only to turn around and fly back east to play the Giants. They fly back home after the New York game to play the Eagles.

These games occur between November 19th through December 20th.

While the Cardinals have talent and play an easier schedule when you throw in the Carolina Panthers and Detroit Lions, the back-and-forth road trips could negatively impact this team unless they stay in a specific geographic region during their October trips.

4 – How Will the West Be Won?

The Cardinals remain the weak sister in the NFC West, at least until the games begin. They have talent and could match well against their brethren, the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, and Los Angeles Rams.

However, they all feature high-flying offensive attacks (the 49ers are more ground-based) that can overwhelm the Cardinals defense if the latter still cannot mesh when the games begin.

The test begins on September 13th when they fly into San Francisco to play the 49ers.

One upside for the Cardinals comes with their scheduling, if they can survive the coast to coast trips. Their next divisional game doesn’t come until October 25th, a week before their bye.

Their first meeting with the Los Angeles Rams dangerous air raid takes place on December 6th. With that said, they may find time to mesh and be ready for their always-dangerous NFC West opponents.

To contend for the playoffs and an NFC Championship, their record against their division doesn’t have to be pretty, but they must finish better than a paltry 1-5.

5 – Offensive Explosion

A huge upside for the Cardinals is their offense. We already touched on Hopkins and Murray, but they are just two pieces to the puzzle.

Let’s start with running back Kenyan Drake, gained in a trade in 2019. Drake struggled in the Miami backfield. But when the Dolphins traded him to the Cardinals, he took off.

He gained 643 rushing yards in eight games with the Cardinals and averaged 5.2 yards per carry, breaking out as the team’s featured back. Better yet, he had a monster game against the Seahawks, one of the Cardinals division rivals.

While the Cardinals finished a meager 2-6 with Drake, they also found themselves within a touchdown of losing all but two games in that stretch. Drake helped keep the Cardinals in games.

Then, you have Larry Fitzgerald, who is 37 but still plays like a man in his 20s. While his speed diminished, he is still a go-to receiver, logging 75 receptions in 2019 as he makes a push to break the legendary Jerry Rice’s reception record.

It won’t happen in 2020, but Fitz is still a viable WR2 in the game and among the NFL’s best possession receivers.

Christian Kirk won’t catch everything Murray throws his way, and he looks injury-prone at times. However, he is also on the verge of breaking out, having recorded 68 receptions in 13 games, which equals a solid 5.2 receptions per game.

Expect big things from tight end Dan Arnold, who played well in limited action in 2019. Arnold is a tweener, with the height of a tight end and slender build of a receiver. Look for a potential breakout season from Arnold.

Given the weapons surrounding Murray along with the second-year quarterback’s ability to work as a dual-threat yet pass-first quarterback, one given for 2020 is that the offense will explode.

While the defense is a mystery, the offense will keep the team in games, evidenced with their 22.6 points per game in 2019, which ranked sixteenth in the league.

With their prize arrival in DeAndre Hopkins, what can’t this offense do?

6 – Stranger Things Have Happened

All the Cardinals need to do is ask the 49ers. Their NFC West rival went from 4-12 to NFC Champion within a one-year span.

No one expected much from the San Francisco 49ers in 2019. A record better than 4-12? Sure. But to make a Super Bowl appearance and come within a fourth quarter meltdown of winning? Not at all.

This Arizona Cardinals team boasts lightyears more talent on offense than the 2019 49ers. If the defense can get it together, watch 2020’s popular pick as the surprise team will perform well enough to sneak into the playoffs and perhaps steal an NFC Championship.

Stranger things have happened in the NFL because they don’t possess the same amount of talent as the Cardinals do in 2020.

That, coupled with coach Kliff Kingsbury’s novel air-raid type of offense, will give opposing defensive coordinators headaches.

Conclusion

The Cardinals can make a run at the NFC Championship. They have challenges, like playing in the NFC West and making constant back and forth trips to the east and back.

But they also have one of the league’s most prolific offenses with talent at every position in the starting lineup. They also have the NFL’s second-best receiver from a numbers standpoint.

Their defense can surprise, and they also have one of the league’s best pass rushers in Chandler Jones.

Look for a big leap from the Cardinals in 2020. And while the odds are still longer for an NFC Championship, it shouldn’t surprise if they capture another one.

What are your thoughts on the Cardinals? Are they worth the gamble in the 2020 NFC Championship?