The Arizona Cardinals are off to a great start in 2020, going 2-0 to begin the year. They have three very winnable games ahead over the next three weeks, too.
With their success on the field, the play of quarterback back Kyler Murray and their surprising defense so far, they find themselves in the top 10 of Touchdown Wire’s latest power rankings for the second week in a row and having moved up.
They moved up from No. 10 to No. 9.
How stacked is the NFC West right now? Well, they have three of four teams in the top 10 of this week’s power rankings, the division’s teams have a total positive point differential of +72, and only the 49ers have lost a game so far — to the Cardinals. Kliff Kingsbury’s team extended its good fortune against a Washington Football Team that has the best Defensive DVOA in the NFL after two weeks, as Kyler Murray completed 26 of 38 passes for 286 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He added two rushing touchdowns for good measure. Murray didn’t need to do more than that, because Arizona’s defense kept Dwayne Haskins in check. Murray was pressured fairly mercilessly by Washington’s dominant front, and he didn’t respond well — 16 of his 43 dropbacks resulted in pressure, and his one interception did, as well. Murray had issues with defenders jumping his routes last season, so this is something to watch.
The Cardinals’ offense is averaging 27 points and more than 400 yards per game and don’t look great yet. The defense has been great.
Even if you don’t believe in the Cardinals yet, with the Lions, Panthers and Jets all coming up in the next three weeks, it isn’t out of the question for Arizona to be 5-0 when they face the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night in Week 6.
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