2025 has been a tale of two seasons for the Arizona Cardinals (3–10) and their Week 15 opponent in the Houston Texans (8–5), as the Cardinals were eliminated from playoff contention nearly two weeks ago, while the Texans are fighting for an AFC South division championship.
To be quite honest, you could make this same claim from last weekend alone, as the Texans are coming off one of their most thrilling wins, defeating the Kansas City Chiefs on the road 20–10. On the other hand, the Cardinals are reflecting on one of their most embarrassing losses as they were, in fact, blown out at home by the Los Angeles Rams 45–17.
With two incredibly different trajectories, one key stat reveals that the Cardinals actually have a shot to play spoiler on Sunday if both sides of the ball can play at their best.
When looking at scoring offense, the two teams are actually neck and neck, with Houston sitting at 21.8 points per game (20th) and Arizona at 21.7 (21st). It’s funny how that works with two completely different quarterbacks under center.
Record-wise, you wouldn’t think that the two teams had similar-looking offenses, but the truth is that the two are very similar in that front. The truth is that defense is going to be the major factor that determines which team has the edge.
The Texans’ defense lets up only 16 points per game (1st) while the Cardinals allow, on average, 26.8 (26th). However, a major reason for that has been due to injuries that have spontaneously occurred throughout the season.
Arizona has been without Walter Nolen III, their 2025 first-round pick, for the majority of the season. His presence has allowed pass rushers such as Josh Sweat or Calais Campbell to generate pressure on the opposing quarterback while also impacting the run game.
In the secondary, the team has been without Will Johnson and Max Melton during certain stretches of the season, with very little depth at cornerback to make a significant impact to replace either of the two.
The good news for Arizona is that all three (Nolen, Johnson, and Melton) look to be on track to play on Sunday.
With a healthy defense on the horizon, it would not be a surprise if Arizona were to go on the road and make the game interesting. As we have seen, the two teams have very similar offenses, and it is just a matter of whether the Cardinals’ defense can slow down quarterback C.J. Stroud and company. This will make for an interesting Week 15 matchup with the potential for an upset.