Arizona Cardinals living in NFL’s most competitive division
The Arizona Cardinals have a ton of offseason work to do if they plan on competing with their NFC West adversaries next season
As they enter the 2020 offseason, the Arizona Cardinals find themselves in a tough spot. The division that the franchise resides in, the NFC West, has become incredibly competitive. In fact, all three of the Cards closest rivals posted winning campaigns in 2019.
The San Francisco 49ers rise to the top has been particularly impressive. Just one year ago, head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad finished with the second-worst record (4-12) in the NFL. Only the Cardinals, who actually defeated the 49ers twice in ’19, finished worse at 3-13.
San Francisco, however, experienced a dramatic turnaround this past fall. Their 13 victories earned them the top seed in the National Football Conference. Many oddsmakers believe that the 49ers will be back in the Super Bowl when the event takes place on February 2nd.
The 11 wins by the Seattle Seahawks during the regular-season were the most by the organization since 2014. Quarterback Russell Wilson‘s arrival in 2012 has made the team an annual contender. Seattle, with head coach Pete Carroll running the show, has achieved eight winning seasons in a row.
Quarterback Jared Goff and the Los Angeles Rams suffered a bit of a letdown in ’19, but still emerged victorious on nine occasions. Head coach Sean McVay’s crew is just one year removed from an appearance in Super Bowl LIII. With a roster loaded with talent, there’s no reason to think that the Rams won’t remain a factor in the NFC West going forward.
If Arizona intends on competing with their adversaries any time soon, there’s plenty of work that needs to be done. Kliff Kingsbury triumphed over a division foe just once during his first campaign as the club’s head coach. Rookie signal-caller Kyler Murray and his teammates managed that feat back on December 22nd, when the Cards upset the Seahawks on the road.
Next. Wideout may be on Cardinals agenda. dark
The road to a Super Bowl championship for the Cardinals will begin in their own division. If the franchise has any hopes of bringing the Vince Lombardi Trophy to the desert, they’ll need to first conquer the NFC West. A successful offseason from the front office will give Arizona more of a chance to achieve that difficult task, and make their ultimate dream come true.