What the Arizona Cardinals must do to contend in NFC West

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - DECEMBER 13: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Chase Edmonds #29 of the Arizona Cardinals in action against James Bradberry #24 of the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on December 13, 2020 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Cardinals defeated the Giants 26-7. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - DECEMBER 13: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Chase Edmonds #29 of the Arizona Cardinals in action against James Bradberry #24 of the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on December 13, 2020 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Cardinals defeated the Giants 26-7. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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Improve game management

Poor in-game decision-making cost the Cardinals. For one, Kliff Kingsbury’s in-game management was about as inconsistent as the rest of the team. He would go for it on fourth down in strange situations. Yet in obvious four-down territory, he would often call on the special teams.

He also had a less-than-ideal post-timeout success rate. When Kingsbury let Kyler Murray use his legs as often as his arm, the Cardinals often won. But when he went with the dink-and-dunk air raid approach, the Cardinals’ offense struggled to move the ball.

It appears Kingsbury isn’t giving up his playcalling duties any time soon. Even if he was critical of his own consistency from time to time. I argued at least twice that the Cardinals should move on from Kingsbury, given names like Eric Bieniemy, Jason Garrett, and Doug Pederson in the head coaching market.

But, the Cardinals are sticking with their head coach for another season. Hopefully, the inconsistent coach, who also posted a 35-40 record at Texas Tech, will learn from his mistakes.