After a promising start to the season, winning five of the first seven games, the Arizona Cardinals were favorites to win the NFC West. Fast forward after the bye week, Kliff Kingsbury‘s team lost six of their final nine contests.
This was gut-wrenching to experience for fans, players, and coaches. Despite the pre-season hype and playoff expectations, Kliff Kingsbury’s squad struggled with consistency all season. The offensive line, secondary, and receivers lacked consistency throughout the year.
This Cardinals’ roster has a few debilitating holes to fill in order to meet expectations for the 2021 season. Not to mention, Kliff Kingsbury’s play-calling and decision-making have been costly throughout the 2020 season. Although the wins have not skyrocketed through the first two seasons under Kingsbury and Murray’s influence, they have progressively gotten better.
In 2019, the team added two more wins and three more this season, after going 3-13 in 2018. This is enough of a reason for Cardinal fans to be optimistic heading into the 2021 season. With a few tweaks to the coaching philosophies and upgrades to the roster through free agency/the draft, this team could be in for another rise in the win column.
The foundation for success has been laid down the past two seasons, next up, the growth for both coach and quarterback. The NFC West is a competitive division, the Cardinals with a successful offense would be primed to take the next step and possibly leapfrog the Seahawks, 49ers, and Rams.
The results of this season left a horrible after-taste in the mouths of anyone associated with the Arizona Cardinals and rightfully so, but there is a silver lining to consider. There are a few big decisions looming, how to create more cap space and is Hasaan Reddick worth a big-time contract. This team is headed in the right direction and fans appreciate the slow-build.