After watching what their division rival did in 2019, the Arizona Cardinals have to have hope for what lies ahead in 2020
A team the Arizona Cardinals spent the last few seasons manhandling is off to the Super Bowl on February 2nd. Congratulations to the San Francisco 49ers.
What they did was just go from 4-12 in 2018 to 13-3 and a Super Bowl birth in 2019. The Cardinals went from 3-13 to 5-10-1 and could also see their fortunes change if they make the right personnel moves in the offseason.
The Cardinals played these 49ers tough this season and if they had any defense they could have beaten them twice. The Cardinals lost 28-25 and 36-26 (a game that was 26-23 Cardinals in the final minute). This was after 7 straight victories over them.
The 49ers are certainly worthy of the NFC title. Sunday night they ran and ran and ran. But they also have a very good quarterback. They should know, Jimmy Garoppolo threw 8 touchdowns in the 2 games against them.
What we saw over the last couple of weeks in the playoffs from the 49ers became even more evident for the Cardinals. They need a much better defense.
Namely they need an upgraded defensive line, a couple better linebackers, and a much stronger secondary overall. Chandler Jones, Budda Baker, Jordan Hicks, and Byron Murphy can’t do it all themselves.
We saw what a good defense did for the 49ers run. They also showed their versatility on offense. Garoppolo we know can beat you with his arm. But they also showed on Sunday night what a healthy run game can do.
It’s even more important now the Cardinals make a conceited effort to re-sign Kenyan Drake. They need to give Chase Edmonds the backup role.
We’ll find out over the coming months what’s to become the 2020 Arizona Cardinals. We know now it’s not impossible to turn a team’s fortune quickly.