How Long Can the Arizona Cardinals Stay Undefeated?
With all the expectations of the NFC West coming into the season, it was expected that all four teams were going to be good. Despite this, most of the predictions ended like this… “The Cardinals will go 8-9 or 9-8”. Here we are, heading into the 7th Sunday of the NFL season, and the Cardinals are 6-0, leading the Rams for the division lead by one game (5-1). Arizona has always had the talent to do it and it seems they are finally putting it all together and have a real chance to make a run at the Super Bowl this year. Let us dive into an analysis of star QB Kyler Murray, how they got here so far, and see how long they can stay undefeated, or dare I say go 17-0.
Kyler Murray
As time has gone on, football has evolved to a sport that for most teams, is dependent on their quarterback. Yes, there are outliers like the Browns and the Titans who use their running game first, but usually, you need a star QB to have a chance to make real noise in the NFL. After moving off QB Josh Rosen, the Cardinals struck gold with QB Kyler Murray. Murray is now in his third year and has emerged as one of the top quarterbacks in football. Through six games, Murray has a league-leading 73.8 CMP % with 17 total TD to just 4 INT. His 116.2 passer rating is third in the league, behind two division foes Matthew Stafford and Russell Wilson. He is also eighth in passing yards with 1,741 yards. With the team at 6-0 and Murray reaching his potential, he is a legitimate MVP candidate over the first six games and looks poised to keep getting better as the season progresses.
Statement Wins
When teams start their season 5 or 6-0, a bunch of times you will hear “they have not beaten anybody yet”. That is not the case for the Cardinals, who have made four statements this year already with wins over the Titans, Rams, Vikings, and Browns. Those three teams have a combined record of 16-9 and all have winning records or are .500. In those four wins, the Cardinals have a point differential of +66 and won by 17 or more points in three of those wins. In the Browns win, they did not have their head coach or top pass rusher Chandler Jones due to COVID and still won in dominating fashion. Another win they had was against a division opponent, the San Francisco 49ers, who were banged up but are always a tall task. Their one win that was not impressive was the Jacksonville Jaguars, who continue to be the bottom feeders of the NFL. They are currently 1-5. People talked about the Steelers 11-0 start being “fake” because of their strength of schedule. The same cannot be said about the 2021 Arizona Cardinals.
Upcoming Schedule
When a team reaches a record like 7-0, everyone starts to turn to look at the schedule to see how far they can go without a loss. If everything goes right, the Cardinals should blow past the lowly Houston Texans in Week 7, whose lone win was against Jacksonville. As of Saturday, the Cardinals are 18-point favorites, which is absurd for a NFL game. After that, the Cardinals have a major test on Thursday Night Football against the Green Bay Packers at home. Despite the tough test, Arizona matches up well against Green Bay with a mobile quarterback and perimeter threats on the outside who can expose an injured defense. The key will be to stop QB Aaron Rodgers in this game from having one of his massive performances where he takes over. If the Cardinals can outlast Green Bay, they go to San Francisco, come home for the Panthers, and head to Seattle before their bye. It is not crazy to think they can handle all three of these teams and rest on their bye week undefeated. If the Cardinals keep clicking and get healthy, they will be a dangerous team when January rolls around and could compete for a Super Bowl.
Schedule info from nfl.com
Stats from profootballreference.com
Writer
-By: Richie Dordas