👋 GOOD MORNING

Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024 — Happy Tuesday! Today we’re here to chat about the much-maligned Cardinals, but before we do, here’s something crazy — even if you won tonight’s Mega Millions drawing — a cool $619 million — you’d still be $149 million short of the deal Juan Soto signed with the New York Mets. That’s pretty wild.

Sun Devils fans were upset to learn that Cam Skattebo was not named as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, and while I certainly share in the disappointment, it was always a long shot for the standout back to make the list. There were a number of contributing factors in this humble newsletter editor’s opinion, but rising to the top is one simple fact: He’s not a quarterback.

There’s generally at least one running back always included, and Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty was rightfully included as a finalist, as is Charles Woodson Travis Hunter out of Colorado. Like it or not, those other two spots were always going to go to quarterbacks, and Dillon Gabriel (Oregon) and Cam Ward (Miami) ultimately made the cut. In what is likely very little consolation for the ASU star, he was named AP Player of the Week after a dominant performance against Iowa State in the Big 12 Championship Game.

The accolades would be nice, not to mention incredibly well-deserved, because you’d be hard-pressed to find any player more valuable to their team than Skattebo. But, hey, look at it this way: You can bet when their date with Clemson/Texas at the Peach Bowl rolls around, the massive chip on the often overlooked Sun Devils’ shoulders will be even bigger.

As if they needed any added motivation.

On to the show!

Cards’ Recent Play is Disappointing, But All is Not Lost

It’s hard to believe the Cardinals are in this position.

Just four weeks ago Arizona was 6-4, coming off a dominant 31-6 win over the New York Jets, and heading for a bye week to heal up. Fast-forward to today, and the Cards have dropped three straight, including two critical matchups against Seattle in the NFC West race.

What seemed like a clear path to the playoffs has now narrowed significantly, but even without a postseason berth it’s not all doom and gloom.

Kyler Murray Shows Growth & Accountability

Yes, the buck always stops with the head coach, but a good NFL team needs its most critical position to lead by example.

Murray’s leadership qualities were ​questioned early in his career​, but the 27-year-old has unquestionably stepped up, especially as of late. Oddly enough the latest evidence of that comes from Arizona’s 30-18 home loss to the Seahawks, in which Murray threw two interceptions and rushed for just 16 yards on three carries.

Not the stat line we have become accustomed to seeing from the wildly talented quarterback.

Following the loss — in what was arguably Murray’s worst game of the season — he displayed accountability and said all the right things while meeting with the media.

“I feel like I let the team down today,” he said after the game. “Self-explanatory. You can’t do that.”

The fact is, in today’s NFL, you expect the quarterback to take accountability, but pundits around the country have consistently questioned Murray’s dedication to both his team and the game itself (see: independent study clause). Murray was clearly upset, but has taken steps to be front-and-center despite the season’s seemingly crumbling foundation.

“Heavy is the crown, I tell him,” said head coach Jonathan Gannon. “He gets a lot of blame, and he gets a lot of praise, too. That’s life in the National Football League as a franchise quarterback.”

There Has Been Improvement Year-Over-Year

Gannon is 10-20 in his two seasons as head coach with the Cardinals, though it’s important to remember Murray missed the first nine games of last season as he recovered from a torn ACL. The 41-year-old head coach has three more wins at this stage of the season than he did a season ago, and the team is ranked higher on defense (25th in 2023, 19th in 2024) while generating more offense (324 yards per game in 2023, 348 in 2024) year-over-year.

And he’s publicly holding himself accountable in front of the team, as well.

“We did not play our brand of ball there,” he said following Sunday’s game. “It starts with me, we have to get that corrected, and we need to play better football.”

Are things perfect? Far from it. Arizona’s turnover margin (-3) is worse after 13 games than it was all of last year (-1), and there have been times where it has felt maddening watching what feels like flag-after-flag come flying onto the field, especially during key moments.

The Cardinals have been penalized 67 times for 622 yards this season, 59 yards more than their opponents, though their per-game average is on par with last season (50 yards per game in 2023, 48 in 2024).

Of course, if things were perfect we wouldn’t be having this discussion, rather, you would be reading about an NFC West title and playoff berth.

“It sucks, obviously, when you feel like you’ve put yourself in this position,” Murray said.

The Playoffs Are Not Yet Off the Table

There’s one more point that needs to be made: The Cardinals can still make the playoffs!

Sure, they need (quite a few) things to go their way in the process, but four winnable games remain on their schedule, beginning against the 3-10 New England Patriots in Glendale on Sunday. It’s an opportunity to right the proverbial ship, and with games at Carolina (3-10), at the Rams (7-6) and against the 49ers (6-7), there’s a real chance at a 10-7 final record.

That may not even be enough to sneak into the playoff picture in the end, but a 10-win season? Sign me up. They were 4-13 last year!

It’s a tough pill to swallow having gone from a postseason favorite to what feels like life support, but things can change very quickly in the NFL.

Just look at the last three weeks as evidence of that.

“I just told them, we put ourselves in a little bit of a hole now,” Gannon said after Sunday’s loss. “All you can do is attack tomorrow, learn tomorrow, have a good week of practice, and again, I have to do a better job of setting them up to win a football game, so that’s what we’ll do.”

And on any given Sunday, you just never know how that will turn out.

ICYMI:
Cardinals Monday Morning Quarterback: Rebuild Revisited
Cardinals Prove They are Not Playoff Worthy in Listless Loss to the Seahawks
Full PHNX Cardinals Coverage

🧢 TIP OF THE HAT BY BRANDED BILLS
ESPN having a little fun with Monday Night Football – how about that Bart Simpson to Ralph Wiggum pass?!