The Arizona Cardinals have made it to their season finale boasting a 4-12 record. And the reason why I’m using the term ‘boast’ is because few believed they would even match their win total from last season given the roster makeover that started in March 2023 and continued throughout most of the year.
But here we are, and the Cardinals have a chance to win five games. While it’s nothing to brag about, we can honestly say that even a five-win season would be a successful one given the meager expectations that started even before last year’s draft. So, let’s get bold and project a victory, which should send the Red Sea home happy to end what was supposed to be an awful season.
But there are a few more bold predictions we would like to make for the final week of 2023 (and the first game of 2024).
3 bold predictions for the Arizona Cardinals in Week 18
1 - Kyler Murray enjoys a repeat performance
Hey, if it’s the final game of the season, why not go all-out and project Kyler Murray to repeat what he did last week, but with one gigantic difference? This time around, Murray does not throw a pick-six, but he logs another trio of touchdown passes and rushes for another, providing 24 points for the Cardinals in their season finale.
This will give Murray a passer rating in the 120s, and it will send him into the offseason with a 4-4 record and a lot of hope for the Red Sea. But if you look at Murray’s most recent numbers, this shouldn’t be all too surprising as he’s completed at least 63.2 percent of his passes in each of the previous three games.
Through seven contests in 2023, Murray has nine touchdown passes and five picks, but he will end the year with 12 passing touchdowns, putting him just two shy of what he managed last season in three fewer starts. Not bad for a quarterback who may have been on the bubble when he debuted in Week 10.