How the Arizona Cardinals can win the NFC West in 2020
3. Find a way to be competitive against the Los Angeles Rams.
It’s a division that has produced five of the last eight conference champions. The NFC West gave the league the San Francisco 49ers in 2012 as well as this past season, the Seattle Seahawks in back-to-back years in 2013 and 2014 and the Los Angeles Rams in 2018.
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And the Arizona Cardinals did reach the NFC title game in 2015 only to be humbled by the Carolina Panthers. Hence, this has been a pretty rugged division in recent years
However, the club that has caused the most angst for the team from the desert as of late has been Sean McVay’s potent squad. Prior to this past season, the Cards had knocked off the 49ers eight consecutive times and the team has mostly split with the Seahawks as of late. Arizona has had more than its share of success in Seattle, going 5-2 on the road vs. Pete Carroll’s team dating back to 2013.
But the Rams have been a different story. Six consecutive losses in the series have been by a combined score of 195-56. And the Cardinals have allowed at least 31 points in each of those contests.
Since 2017, the team is a combined 6-12 vs. their NFC West rivals. Half of those dozen losses have come to the Rams. It’s a dragon that Kliff Kingsbury’s improving team needs to slay at least once in 2020.