Predicting Arizona Cardinals Win-Losses Revisited
By Scott Allen
Oct 27, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back Stepfan Taylor (30) carries the ball as Atlanta Falcons middle linebacker Akeem Dent (52) and outside linebacker Joplo Bartu (59) defend during the second half at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Back at the beginning of September I made my predictions for the Arizona Cardinals wins-losses. As of right now, I am one game off of my prediction. I had the Cards at 5-3 after eight games. They are 4-4. With the bye this week and exactly halfway through the season, here are my predictions revisited.
Week 1 – I had them beating St. Louis 20-17. Actual final 27-24 Rams.
Week 2 – Predicted Cards 27-20 over the Lions. I was close 25-21.
Week 3 – Had the Cards losing 34-16 in New Orleans. Close. They lost 31-7.
Week 4 – Went with the Bucs in a 35-21 win over Cards. I was off on that one, including score.
Week 5 – I went with the Cardinals 32-28 over the Panthers. They won 22-6.
Week 6 – Went with the Niners 27-14. They won 32-20.
Week 7 – I took the Cards to eek out a win 21-20 over the Seahawks. Unfortunately they failed to show up on either side of ball and lost 34-22.
Week 8 – I went with the Cards 31-28 over the Falcons. I didn’t give the Cards defense enough credit. Four more interceptions of Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.
Now my re-visited predictions for the remainder of the season:
Week 9 – I predict they squeeze a victory out of the bye.
Week 10 – Arizona 27 Houston 14 – I truly believe we will see a game a lot like this past Sunday against the Falcons.
Week 11 – Arizona 23 Jacksonville 10 – In a mild upset, the Jaguars score 10 at home.
Week 12 – Indianapolis 24 Arizona 20 – It’ll be closer than the 27-12 I predicted before the season, but still not enough.
Week 13 – Arizona 17 Philadelphia 15 – Hard to predict when you don’t know who the opposing quarterback will be. Cards have had Philly’s number anyway over the past several seasons.
Week 14 – Arizona 23 St. Louis 6 – St. Louis has a good defense. They did give up 24 in the opener to Arizona, so I know they can move the ball against them.
Week 15 – Tennessee 30 Arizona 16 – A tough place for the Cards to play. Tennessee is decent enough to win this one at home
Week 16 – Seattle 35 Arizona 9 – I can’t see anyway anyhow how this Cards team can win in Seattle. It’ll be better than 58-0 but still a convincing win for the Seahawks.
Week 17 – Arizona 26 San Francisco 23 – Why not, right? It’s just a prediction. Why can’t I take a shot?
Based on predictions for the remaining schedule, I have the Cards finishing 9-7. It’s a bit of a stretch but possible. If they play like they did on both sides of the ball against the Falcons, then I can definitely see this being the end result for the Cards. I think based on current NFC records, it will take 10-6 to get into the playoffs though. 9-7 might depending on who else is 9-7. Remember, the Cards have tie-breakers over the Lions and Panthers thanks to head-to-head matchups.