Tennessee unable to help the Arizona Cardinals cause for a higher draft pick last Sunday

The Tennessee Titans (once again playing as the Houston Oilers) had last Sunday’s game in hand with a 13-0 lead in the second quarter in their game vs. the Houston Texans. A win would have helped the Arizona Cardinals attain a higher draft pick at least in the short-term. But the loss now catapults the pick general manager Monti Ossenfort acquired from Houston back to 17th overall when Week 15 was all said and done.

This especially hurts the Cardinals considering the fact that the selection was slowly creeping back up the draft boards given the Texans recent play. Last week, the pick sat at 16th overall, but that won’t be the case heading into Week 16. 

For the Titans, who held a 13-3 lead at halftime, all but stalled in the second half, not scoring again until the early fourth quarter when they held a 16-9 lead, but Houston managed to tie the game on the ensuing drive. Tennessee couldn’t score and ended up punting the ball away on their next four drives, including two in overtime. 

Arizona Cardinals couldn’t get help for their second first-round pick

Luckily for the Arizona Cardinals, the Texans schedule isn’t exactly easy heading into the final three games. They play against the resurging Cleveland Browns next week before they again meet the Titans, and they will ultimately end their season against the Indianapolis Colts. 

Cleveland, who won two straight games, seems to have found an effective stopgap at quarterback in Joe Flacco and will give Houston quite a matchup, while the Colts are another surprise playoff contender given their 8-6 record with quarterback Gardner Minshew. If the final three games on the slate can keep the Texans out of the playoffs, it will serve as a huge help for the Cardinals. 

If not, then it’s not the end of all hope, as this stacked 2024 draft class has plenty of talent toward the back end of the first round. However, a higher pick closer to the middle of the first round will land the Cardinals more options with that second pick. Meanwhile, the Cardinals once again ended the week with the third overall pick for their original selection in the draft. 

(Information provided by Tankathon and ESPN.com)