With the regular season a few short weeks away and every NFL team in training camp, it is prediction time. USA TODAY’s Nate Davis put together full predictions for the entire NFL — what every team’s record in the regular season will be and how the postseason plays out.
He predicts that Aaron Rodgers will lead the New York Jets to a Super Bowl win over the Green Bay Packers.
But what about the Arizona Cardinals, a team expected to be better and more competitive but still fall short of the postseason?
They are exactly that. Davis predicts a 7-10 record. However, they don’t finish in last place in the NFC West, as he projects the Seattle Seahawks will win only five games.
Despite a new coaching staff, limited snaps for QB Kyler Murray and widespread roster reboot, the Cards were a tough out nearly every week last season. This year, Murray should be physically recovered from his 2022 ACL tear and assisted by a draft haul that brought seven players among the top 90 overall selections – with the primary focus on first-round WR Marvin Harrison Jr. Arizona will be tested early, facing 2023 postseason squads in five of the first six weeks. But this season could be a springboard to a breakout 2025 for this club.
This is a perfectly reasonable prediction and is the logical progression for the team. While only winning seven games would be a disappointment inside the building, it would show progress and growth over last season.
A team and its growth to emulate would be the Detroit Lions and head coach Dan Campbell. They were competitive but bad in their first season, surprising but fell short the next season and then were close to making the Super Bowl in Year 3, now looking like one of the best teams in the league in this fourth season.
That is sort of the hope this year. While it would be great to see them get on a role and outdo expectations, if they are a competitive seven-win team in a tough division with a schedule that is brutal to start the year, that feels good.
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