Crawling into the playoffs last year, the injury-plagued Arizona Cardinals had little hope to go on a Super Bowl run. If Andre Ellington hadn't been lost for the year ... if Carson Palmer hadn't torn his ACL ... if Drew Stanton hadn't hurt his knee. The Cardinals lost five of their final seven games and it's not an excuse to say injuries were the main factor. Arizona had the impossible task of trying to win a playoff game on the road with a third-string quarterback and Ryan Lindley wasn't up to the task. They lost to the Carolina Panthers 27-16 and had the fewest total yards in a playoff game in NFL history - 76. It was embarrassing to say the least
Fast forward one year...
13-3. NFC West Champions. The #2 seed in the NFC. A first-round bye. A healthy quarterback (stay healthy Carson Palmer). This year, the Cardinals are hungrier than ever. 3 games, 12 quarters, 180 minutes of football stand in the way of the Arizona Cardinals if they want to win Super Bowl 50
Here is how they can do it...
First, Arizona is perhaps the most complete team in the NFL. The Cardinals have ranked in the top five in offensive and defensive efficiency for 15 straight weeks and are projected to have the most efficient offense and third-most-efficient defense of any playoff team this postseason.
It’s easy to focus on Arizona’s most recent loss, to the Seahawks, but that is one game in a 16-game sample. In their other 15 games, the Cardinals were the most dominant and consistent team in the NFL. Entering Week 17, Arizona had an NFL-best plus-13.7 scoring margin and won six games by at least 23 points, tied for the most in a season since the 1996 Packers.
Although some quarterbacks have had better six- or seven-game stretches than Carson Palmer, no quarterback was more consistently efficient over the course of the entire season. He led the league in Total QBR and became the first player since Tom Brady in 2007 to post an above-average QBR in each of his first 15 games. You know what the Cardinals' record is over the last two years in games Carson Palmer starts? 19-3. If he hadn't torn up his knee last season the Cardinals could very well be the reigning champs. Palmer is healthy now and leading an offense that's one of the league's best. Arizona has weapons everywhere, and Palmer, under the guidance of head coach Bruce Arians, loves taking shots. That defense, No. 3 in the NFL according to Football Outsiders, ain't bad either.
Lastly, Arizona’s path to the NFC title game is heavily favorable. By finishing as the No. 2 seed in the NFC, the Cardinals avoid Seattle in the division round; the Seahawks are perhaps Arizona’s biggest threat in the playoffs. Instead, the Cardinals will face the Vikings, Redskins or Packers. The Cardinals are given at least a 75 percent chance of beating each of those teams at home by ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI).
ESPN’s FPI's favorite to win the Super Bowl is not the team that is No. 1 (Panthers) ... or No. 2 (Broncos) ... or even No. 3 (Patriots) in ESPN.com’s Power Rankings. Instead, FPI favors, by a fairly wide margin, the Arizona Cardinals to win Super Bowl 50. Arizona has a 29 percent chance to win the title, followed by Carolina (20 percent), New England (18 percent) and Denver (11 percent). It is time to get it done Arizona Cardinals...
RISE UP RED SEA!
