Arizona Cardinals: NFL’s Most Underrated Team
The Arizona Cardinals were a 10-win team last year. They entered Sunday with three wins and only one loss. They deserve to be mentioned with other potential playoff teams, but the thing is, not enough people give them the credit.
We know about their division, which features both teams that played in last year’s NFC Championship game. Given how poorly other divisions have played so far, the NFC West could very well send a third team to the playoffs. Even if it doesn’t, don’t count out the Cardinals from leapfrogging the San Francisco 49ers. Jim Harbaugh is reportedly set on leaving the team after the season and the turmoil within the organization will start to wear on their goals at some point.
Arizona’s roster is littered with great players that few casual fans have heard of. Patrick Peterson is every bit as talented as Richard Sherman, but he hasn’t publicly trashed any opponents and has not been featured in many headlines. Larry Fitzgerald should go down as one of the best receivers of all time, but has been limited by poor quarterback play for most of his career. These Cardinals are legit, and more people need to learn about them.
In the Week 5 matchup pitting the Cardinals against the Denver Broncos, Demaryius Thomas finished the first half with 165 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Peyton Manning threw three first-half interceptions, and Julius Thomas caught the third. That half went about as well as the Broncos could have hoped. That said, Arizona entered halftime only down by eight. They took the best Denver could give and still found themselves squarely in the game.
Arizona plays with the best that the NFL can give within their own division, and at the end of the year, they’ll find themselves comfortably in playoff contention.
Anthony F. Irwin is an NBA, NFL, MLB and NCAA Football contributor for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. Send him an email at .
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