Quietly, the Arizona Cardinals are one of the hottest teams in the NFC.
Thanks to a four-game win streak, everybody suddenly likes Arizona, as it currently leads the NFC West.
However, let’s dig a little deeper.
The 17-15 victory over the Chargers at home came when Los Angeles was without its best defensive player (Joey Bosa) and were down wide receivers Quentin Johnston and Derius Davis.
The Chargers didn’t sack Kyler Murray once. Justin Herbert heavily targeted tight ends (Will Dissly had a team-high 11 targets) with his WR room banged up. Arizona won on a 32-yard field goal as time expired.
Then Arizona needed to rally from down 10 in the third quarter and down nine in the fourth quarter to beat the Dolphins.
Next came wins against the lowly Bears and Jets. One coaching staff is totally inept; the other might be the worst staff in the league after firing Robert Saleh. By the way, Saleh at least got his defense to keep playing hard last year.
Are the Cardinals good? We don’t really know.
They have a good offensive nucleus. But will the Harrison–McBride–Conner triumvirate have as much success against a healthy Seattle secondary that really shut down the 49ers last week?
Seattle’s ability to play with a single high safety and load up the box against the run could bottle up the Arizona offense on what is expected to be a rainy Sunday afternoon.
Arizona has been terrific as an underdog, going 5-2 against the spread (ATS), including outright wins over the 49ers, Chargers, Dolphins and Jets. Now, as a small favorite on the road, it’s a slightly different situation.
PICK: Seahawks (+1) to lose by less than one point, or win outright
Jason McIntyre is a FOX Sports betting analyst who also writes about the NFL and NBA Draft. Before arriving at FOX, he created the website The Big Lead. Follow him on Twitter @JasonRMcIntyre.
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