That was no mirage in the desert in 2018 as the Arizona Cardinals finished with the worst record in the NFL. How could they win the NFC West this season?
The Arizona Cardinals offer the final installment of the annual series that suggests what each NFL team that finished last in their division the previous season could do to rebound to earn a first-place finish. We have actually seen it happen twice in each of the previous two campaigns.
The Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles turned the trick in 2017 — with the latter actually capturing Super Bowl LII. This past season, the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans rose from the basement to win the NFC North and AFC South, respectively.
So after looking at what New York Jets, New York Giants, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders need to do in 2019 to win a division title, it’s time to wrap things up and take a look at how the team with the worst record in the league in 2018 could pull off a huge surprise.
This past season, the Cardinals began life without Bruce Arians and a bunch of new quarterbacks on their depth chart. When it was all said and done, the club managed a 3-13 record and first-time NFL head coach Steve Wilks was out of a job after one season.
General manager Steve Keim is now banking on former Texas Tech sideline leader Kliff Kingsbury and his style of offense to jumpstart a franchise that comes off his worst showing since finishing with an identical record in 2000.
But that’s all sand under the desert, per se. What could the Cardinals do to unseat the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West this upcoming season?
3. Pose a challenge to the Los Angeles Rams
The Arizona Cardinals won three games this past season, two of those victories at the expense of a San Francisco 49ers’ team that finished 4-12 in 2018. In recent years, the club has more times than not split their two-game set with the Seattle Seahawks — although the Cards were swept this past season in the series for the first time since 2014.
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But it’s been quite a different story the past two years when it comes to Big Red matching up with the team that has captured the division twice over that span. The Los Angeles Rams have prevailed in the last four meetings between the clubs and it hasn’t been close. Sean McVay’s club has won those contests by a combined 130-25 score, shut out Arizona twice and averaged 405.3 total yards per game in those outings.
So can new head coach Kliff Kingsbury and perhaps more significantly, new defensive coordinator Vance Joseph be up to the task of turning things around in this series?
The Arizona offense produced just three touchdowns in those setbacks (one of those scores a David Johnson touchdown grab from wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald) while the Cardinals had zero answers for McVay’s attack. And it’s also worth noting that the Cards have used a different starting quarterback (Carson Palmer, Blaine Gabbert, Sam Bradford and Josh Rosen) in each of the last four meetings. And barring a major surprise, Kyler Murray will make it five.
2. Fix the offensive line
While there’s plenty of discussion on the kind of impact that rookie quarterback Kyler Murray could have in his debut season in the league, the 2018 Heisman Trophy winner certainly can’t do it all by himself. And the team must get a much better performance from an offensive front that was just not up to the task a year ago.
Along with the aforementioned shortcomings in terms of yards gained in all facets, the Cardinals allowed a whopping 52 sacks. This past season, starting quarterbacks Sam Bradford and eventually Josh Rosen were under duress throughout the year and combined for 13 fumbles and lost seven of those miscues.
The veteran additions this offseason when it comes to this group include veteran right tackle Marcus Gilbert — obtained via trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers — as well as free-agent guards Max Garcia (Denver Broncos) and J.R. Sweezy (Seattle Seahawks).
As for the incumbents, center Mason Cole was a 16-game starter a year ago but had his issues with pass protection. Meanwhile, left tackle D.J. Humphries and right guard Justin Pugh (in his first year with the Cardinals) saw their 2018 seasons cut short by injuries. It’s safe to say that there’s some work to do here in terms of molding a solid unit but it’s essential that the club show improvement here.
1. Immediate impact from QB Kyler Murray
When you finish dead last in the NFL in total yards, rushing yards and passing yards in the same season — the first franchise to manage that dubious feat since the 1977 Tampa Bay Buccaneers — there’s plenty of blame to go around. And it’s safe to say that new Arizona Cardinals’ head coach Kliff Kingsbury has his work cut out for himself, as does rookie quarterback Kyler Murray if the team is to reverse those misfortunes.
The first overall pick in April’s draft comes in with a lot of expectations but also reservations from some convinced that the 5-10, 207-pound hurler can hold up this season. The 2018 Heisman Trophy winner proved his mettle at the University of Oklahoma with both his arm and his feet.
A good start in 2019 would be topping what starters Sam Bradford and Josh Rosen and reserve Mike Glennon did this past season. The trio combined for 13 touchdown passes, 18 interceptions and seven lost fumbles. They accounted for 25 of the club’s 28 turnovers.
Arizona scored an NFL-low 225 points in 2018 and the offensive unit accounted for only 24 touchdowns. The Kingsbury/Murray relationship has been well-documented and at the very least, this new-look Cardinals’ offense and its young quarterback must present some challenges to the opposition from the start.