Arizona Cardinals Can Emulate The Denver Broncos

It is possible that the Arizona Cardinals could become to the NFC what that Denver Broncos have become to the AFC.

After the Denver Broncos dispatched of another good team last night, defeating the San Diego Chargers 35-21 in a game that was close in the first half, before I started drinking the Broncos Kool-Aid, the thought occurred to me the Cards have the ability to be just like them.

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Sure, Cards quarterback Carson Palmer is no Peyton Manning.  We all know that.  However look at the similarities between the teams.  Yes, the Broncos seemingly can score at will and score touchdowns more consistently when they do score but both offenses have multiple weapons.

The Broncos win at home.  It is hard to play there as the Cards can attest to.  They can be beat at home but you must play a near flawless game against them.  Same can be said for Cards opponents.

The Cards can draw off of common opponents this season.  Look at how San Diego stayed in last night’s game until the third quarter.  The Cards were in the game in Denver until the first few minutes of the fourth quarter.

The Cards were down 24-20 in Denver going to the fourth quarter despite losing quarterback Drew Stanton and defensive end Calais Campbell.  One big reason for staying in the game was not turning the ball over and also intercepting Manning twice on defense.  However, it was not flawless.  San Diego stayed in the game, in fact led 17-6 in Arizona going to the fourth before losing 18-17.

The Cards dropped a lot of passes.  A couple of which could have been touchdowns.  They had to settle for field goals in those instances instead.  That has been the story of the Cards offense this season.  Yes, they manage to get into the end zone tow to three times a game, but this offense has the weapons to score four to six touchdowns a game much like Denver.

Denver and Arizona have both defeated the San Francisco 49ers at home.  They’ve both defeated the Chargers at home.  Denver’s only loss was arguably their toughest road game against the Seattle Seahawks.  Arizona’s only loss has been their toughest road game in Denver.  They are both winning.  Denver hasn’t been able to run and hide much in games though and neither have the Cards.  Just don’t go crowning Denver just yet.  No one is with the Cards or any other team.  But both fan bases in Denver and Arizona should have a lot to be excited about and rightfully so.

There are a lot of contenders this year.  The next two Cards opponents in the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys will have a lot of say in just how much more excited we should stay headed into the home stretch.