At the end of 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 a bad thing because they should be aiming for a better draft position.
Remember the story of the 2024 Cardinals in December, when teams with terrible records win a few games and it’s considered meaningless. The Cardinals won against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles in December of 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 of a strong finish continued.
The Cardinals are in first place in the NFC West and they’re getting better every week. The New York Jets arrived in Arizona after a win over the Houston Texans in Week 9 and some extra rest after playing Thursday, and the Cardinals embarrassed them. Arizona improved to 6-4 with 31-6 victory. They have won four in a row.
The Cardinals are building something pretty good with Gannon. It started late last season, when they were well out of the NFC playoff race.
Cardinals dominate 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 during the offseason.
The Jets couldn’t do anything against this group on Sunday. Aaron Rodgers had 40 yards on 11 attempts in the first half. He was constantly under pressure. Gannon, who earned the Arizona head coaching job for his work as defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2022-23 season, does a great job getting the most out of a unit who doesn’t have a lot of top-notch 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 slipped out of his hands and fell incomplete. That was pretty much 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 a supposedly talented Jets defense. The Cardinals led 24-6 at halftime.
It was a complete performance. The Cardinals played much like a first-place team should.
Cardinals remain ahead of the NFC West
The Cardinals are going to have a hard time hanging on and winning the NFC West. The San Francisco 49ers (5-4) haven’t been great for 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 appears to be a very good hire for the organization, which has a young team and some exciting stars on the offensive end. Sunday was the Cardinals’ fourth straight win, and they’ve played better every week during that stretch.
Even if the Cardinals don’t win the NFC West and earn a wild-card spot in a loaded NFC, there are plenty of arrows pointing for the franchise. And if their progress continues, there’s no reason why they can’t win the division a year ahead of schedule.
