ARIZONA CARDINALS
2021 Record - 11-6-0
Head Coach - Kliff Kingsbury
New Additions - Marquise Brown (WR), Stephen Anderson (TE), Jeff Gladney (DB), Will Hernandez (OL), Nick Vigil (LB)
Offensive Rank in 2021 - 8th (374 YPG); Scoring - 11th (26.4 PPG)
Defensive Rank in 2021 - 11th (329 YPG); Scoring - 11th (21.5 PPG)
The Arizona Cardinals made the NFL playoffs last year and were crushed by the eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams, 34-11 in the Wild Card round. The offense is led by quarterback Kyler Murray, who passed for 3,787 yards with 24 touchdowns and ten interceptions last season. He also scored five rushing touchdowns and had 423 yards on the ground. Wide receiver Marquise Brown (91 receptions, 1,008 yards and six TD) comes over from Baltimore in 2022 and will team with DeAndre Hopkins (42, 572, eight TD) and veteran A.J. Green (54, 848, three TD) as the main targets in the passing attack. Tight End Zach Ertz (56, 574, three TD) will be joined by the Cardinals top draft pick Trey McBride (Colorado State) to help the passing game. The running game has James Conner (752 rushing yards and 15 TD) leading the way.
On defense, the Cardinals feature Markus Golden (eleven QB sacks) at linebacker along with veteran J.J. Watt, who has battled numerous injuries in recent years. Byron Murphy, Jr. (four interceptions) and Budda Baker (three picks) lead the secondary, which helped a solid pass defense in 2021, ranking seventh in the NFL. Replacing free agents Chandler Jones, Jordan Hicks and Jordan Phillips will not be easy for what was a solid defense last season.
Outlook for 2022 season - A lot will depend on Murray and the offense as the fourth year QB signed a huge contract extension recently that should keep him in the desert city for many years to come. Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury could be on the hot seat if this time flounders after a strong 2021 regular season, which ended with the team losing four of their final five games and then the playoff debacle.
Not having top notch WR Hopkins for the first six games (PED suspension) doesn't help, but if the Cardinals can can get off to another big start (10-2 last season) it would make life easier in what is possibly the best division in pro football. The Rams and San Francisco 49ers played in the NFC title game last year and the Cards will be hard pressed to win the division. It's time to put the off-season drama (Murray contract talks and losing notable defensive stalwarts to free agency) behind and get busy in 2022 to advance further in the playoffs, provided this team is good enough to make it there again.
TEAM SCHEDULE
Week One - vs. Kansas City
Week Two - at Las Vegas
Week Three - vs. L.A. Rams
Week Four - at Carolina
Week Five - vs. Philadelphia
Week Six - at Seattle
Week Seven - vs. New Orleans
Week Eight - at Minnesota
Week Nine - vs. Seattle
Week Ten - at L.A. Rams
Week Eleven - vs. San Francisco (in Mexico City, Mexico)
Week Twelve - vs. L.A. Chargers
Week Thirteen - BYE
Week Fourteen - vs. New England
Week Fifteen - at Denver
Week Sixteen - vs. Tampa Bay
Week Seventeen - at Atlanta
Week Eighteen - at San Francisco
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