Late last season, the Arizona Cardinals were one of those teams that most people would say had nothing to play for. Some would even say that winning in December was bad because they should be tanking for better draft position.
Remember the story of the 2024 Cardinals this December when teams with a terrible record win a couple games and it’s viewed as meaningless. The Cardinals won at the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles in December last year at the end of Jonathan Gannon’s first season as head coach. The 4-13 record wasn’t impressive, but the good vibes from a strong finish carried over.
The Cardinals are in first place of the NFC West and they’re getting better every week. The New York Jets came to Arizona after a win over the Houston Texans in Week 9 and some extra rest from playing on Thursday, and the Cardinals embarrassed them. Arizona improved to 6-4 with the 31-6 win. They’ve won four in a row.
The Cardinals are building something pretty good with Gannon. That started late last season after they were far removed from the NFC playoff race.
Cardinals dominate the Jets
The biggest reason the Cardinals are improving is their defense. Their offense, with Kyler Murray, James Conner, Trey McBride and rookie Marvin Harrison Jr., was expected to be good. Arizona’s defense was a question, especially after there weren’t many additions over the offseason.
The Jets couldn’t do anything against that group Sunday. Aaron Rodgers had 40 yards on 11 attempts in the first half. He was consistently under pressure. Gannon, who got the Arizona head coaching job for his work as the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive coordinator in the 2022-23 season, is doing a fine job getting the most out of a unit that doesn’t have a lot of blue-chip talent.
The Jets went on a long drive to start the second half. But Arizona held inside the 10-yard line, getting a stop on fourth down when Rodgers was hit from behind and a pass popped out of his hands and fell incomplete. That was practically it for the Jets’ chances of winning.
The Cardinals’ offense has been inconsistent this season but it was good on Sunday. Conner and Murray scored rushing touchdowns in the first half and Harrison caught one in the corner of the end zone. Murray completed 17 of 19 passes for 199 yards in the first half against an allegedly talented Jets defense. The Cardinals led 24-6 at halftime.
It was a complete performance. The Cardinals played very much like a first-place team should.
Cardinals stay in front of NFC West
The Cardinals are going to have a challenge hanging on and winning the NFC West. The San Francisco 49ers (5-4) haven’t been great most of this season but they still have the most talent in the division. The Los Angeles Rams (4-4), who play Monday night, are improving as they get healthy.
But the Cardinals are not going away. Gannon looks like a very good hire for the organization, which has a young roster and some exciting stars on the offensive side. Sunday was the Cardinals’ fourth straight win, and they’ve played better every week during that streak.
Even if the Cardinals don’t win the NFC West, and don’t get a wild-card spot in a loaded NFC, a lot of arrows are pointed up for the franchise. And if their improvement continues, there’s no reason they can’t win the division a year ahead of schedule.