The Arizona Cardinals are good, but not this good

The Arizona Cardinals have started the season great. They are 5-0 with a dominant wins over the Rams and Titans. They have a big test against the Browns this week in which they are slight road underdogs. Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if they won that game, but winning like this, won’t continue. The cardinals have to prove they are real before I can jump on their bandwagon. They can prove themselves by making the playoffs for starters, and then winning a game or two.

Last year we saw them start great before fizzling out late and missing the playoffs. I remember them also starting the season 4-0 with an impressive win over Brady and the Patriots before finishing with like 6 wins or something. I forget how many wins they actually got that year but they were not good after. I believe Kevin Kolb was their Quarterback. There are a couple of reasons why they will fall back to earth. 

For starters, Kyler Murray is already dealing with a shoulder injury. It is on his non-throwing shoulder but doctors say it should affect him. It hasn’t so far but time will tell. But that isn’t the only reason. Chase Edmunds has also started to deal with Injury and it just feels like they are playing above their ability. Kyler wore down last year and it doesn’t look like he’s running around less this year. The guy is an insane athlete but the season wears on players, as he showed last year. He has already started to regress a bit from his first couple of games. 

Next you have the cardinals last game against the Niners. Trey Lance was the Starter for the Niners and he is just not at the level of an NFL QB. He looks uncomfortable and has no feel in the pocket. The Niners also held the Cardinals to 17 points, not really a number you want to see from a top team at home. That was the first time they didn’t score 30. It also correlated with Kyler and Edmunds injuries. Things are already starting to fall apart. That’s an exaggeration but the cracks are starting to form. 

The cardinals schedule is actually surprisingly easy. They have to play the Packers and Rams again but outside of that they should be favored in every game for the rest of the season. Will they finish the season 15-2, definitely not. But 12 wins definitely feels achievable. 

I just think they are peaking too early. Chandler Jones will never play better than he did week 1, No shame in that, but just saying. Thats obviously a joke but I do believe they are peaking early and going to go through a mid season slump. They will lose to teams they are better than. Everyone does it. The Cardinals are no exception. They are closer to being good than being great. Kyler will keep them in almost every game, assuming he’s healthy, but they will start to lose some of the close ones. 

The NFC West was supposed to be THE division in football. With the Seahawks and Niners being extremely banged up, it no longer looks that tough. The Rams are good, and I still expect them to win the division, but the Cardinals should have an easy path to the playoffs. 

That being said, I don’t think the Cardinals stack up to well with the top teams in the NFC West. As it currently stands they would maybe be the third or fourth best team in the NFC with the Rams, Buccaneers, Packers, and even the Cowboys going to be tough for them to get past. All of those teams also have more experience which actually means something in the playoffs. This is a great start for the cardinals but it’s not quite their time. This will be their first playoff appearance under Kyler, and definitely won’t be their last, but it will not result in the deep run many may be thinking.