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The Arizona Cardinals believe they are a much improved team. Cornerback Patrick Peterson believes the roster is championship-caliber. They are getting some hype as a potential playoff teams.
For The Win’s Steven Ruiz has the Cardinals as the first of five legitimate playoff sleepers for the 2020 season. His list includes the Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons, Las Vegas Raiders and Miami Dolphins.
Their odds don’t necessarily reflect it, but the Cardinals, much like Denver, are getting plenty of offseason love. The expected second-year leap from Kyler Murray is the big reason why people are jumping on Arizona’s bandwagon, and it’s also why I have them on this list.
A second-year leap for Murray would go a long way in propelling the offense, which finished 13th in offensive DVOA in 2019, per Football Outsiders. The addition of DeAndre Hopkins, who gives the Cardinals an answer against man coverage that they just didn’t have last year, should help accelerate his development and improve his numbers in the red zone. That was an issue during Murray’s rookie campaign, as Sports Info Solution’s Bryce Rossler points out.
The defense doesn’t look significantly better on paper, but if some of the younger players in the secondary — I’m looking at you Byron Murphy — take a step forward and we get bounce-back seasons from Patrick Peterson and Robert Alford, it can be okay. And ‘okay’ might be good enough. Playing in a division with coaches hellbent on establishing the run could naturally boost the defense.
While the defense remains a significant question mark, the slate of quarterbacks it will face is relatively easy, outside of two games against Russel Wilson, one against Dak Prescott and another against Carson Wentz. Jimmy Garoppolo and Jared Goff are really the only other proven starters on the schedule.
The Cardinals will have a tough pair of stretches in the schedule. They have three straight road games at one point and have a pair of late-season East Coast trips where weather could be a factor.
They play in a tough division. The 49ers went to the Super Bowl last season. The Rams went the year before. The Seahawks are perennial playoff contenders.
With an extra wild-card team making the postseason in 2020, the Cardinals definitely could be one of the league’s bigger surprises.
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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.
Ep. 268
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Ep. 267
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