Arizona Cardinals: Are They Built for a Deep Playoff Run

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Will the Arizona Cardinals win in the playoffs? After 14 weeks of football and their 30-23 loss to the Rams last night, the team sits at a comfortable 10-3 record and is the second seed in the NFC.

One paper this season the Cardinals have looked like a super bowl contender, but does that translate come postseason? Only six players of their starters have playoff experience. But so far they are soaring through their schedule as the season continues.

Let’s take a deeper look into who they have beaten shall we; Jaguars, Texans, Browns, 49ers twice, Vikings, Seahawks, Rams, and the Titans. The Jags and Texans are eliminated from playoff contention as of today while the Seahawks are one more loss away from becoming eliminated. The Vikings are still in the hunt with a 23.9% chance to make the postseason. Half of the teams Arizona has played have not been strong playoff contenders, rather teams that are rebuilding or completely dysfunctional. One of their losses was to Green Bay. Granted it was a close game most likely the Packers are someone you are going to have to face this coming January.

Some still say that the Cardinals are not a real playoff team and you can make a good case for that. With them having the 13th easiest schedule in the NFL, that means you’re not playing many playoff teams. So you can’t get upset when someone says, “They haven’t played anybody for real yet”. Only time will tell.

They currently have a top-5 offense and defense, ranked 3rd and 4th. Balance is the key and the offense has 22 passing touchdowns with 21 rushing touchdowns. Redzone efficiency is at 65% with 33 total touchdowns so far this season. Side note: Arizona has scored 30+ points in seven games this season. All though Deandre Hopkins and Kyler Murray have nursed an injury these last couple of weeks, they were not on the injury list for Week 14.

The Defense looks to continue its high level of play. Ranked 5th in yards allowed, 5th in touchdown passes, and 4th in rushing touchdowns. Their percentage of drives ending in an offensive turnover is 18%, which is 3rd in the NFL.

Here are the Cardinals remaining games; at Lions, vs. Colts, at Cowboys, and vs. Seahawks.

If this team wants to win a Super Bowl, they must win close games against good opponents because the playoffs is another level of competition.