NFL.com’s Schein: Carson Palmer has a ‘realistic chance’ to play in Super Bowl 50
Jul 27, 2015, 5:44 PM | Updated: 5:45 pm
Carson Palmer has never led a team to a postseason victory, though in some ways it’s through little fault of his own.
In 2006, he tore his ACL on the first pass of a divisional round game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, a game that was in Cincinnati.
The pass, by the way, was a 66-yard completion.
Then there was 2009, where he completed just half of his 36 pass attempts for 146 yards and one touchdown, with one interception, against Rex Ryan’s New York Jets in a Wild Card round matchup.
And last season, he had helped the Cardinals race out to a 9-1 start, only to be forced into watching the team’s Wild Card round loss to the Carolina Panthers while recovering form a torn ACL.
The Cardinals were 6-0 in games Palmer started, looking every bit a contender.
Heading into the 2015 season, conventional wisdom seems to be that a healthy Palmer could mean big things in Arizona, which is why NFL.com’s Adam Schein writes that Palmer is one of nine QBs with the best chance to win their first Super Bowl.
In fact, Palmer comes in at No. 2 on the list behind only Indianapolis’ Andrew Luck.
Since joining forces with Bruce Arians in 2013, Carson Palmer has the fourth-best winning percentage among starting quarterbacks. You read that right. Only Russell Wilson (.781), Peyton Manning (.781) and Tom Brady (.75) — all Super Bowl-winning passers — have better marks than Palmer’s .727 during the past two seasons.
With Palmer declaring himself 100 percent from last year’s ACL injury, and the roster re-loaded from top to bottom, there’s no reason to think he won’t keep his winning ways going.
I think the Cardinals — with their fierce defense, depth and sensational head coach — enter the season, at worst, the third-best team in the NFC and with a realistic chance to play in Super Bowl 50.
While every season is different and just because the Cardinals were good pre-Palmer injury last season does not guarantee success this year, there is a healthy amount of optimism surrounding the team heading into training camp.
However, the Cardinals are still in the NFC West and do still need to deal with the Seattle Seahawks, the NFC champions each of the last two seasons, so their road to the Super Bowl will not exactly be a smooth one.
Yet, it’s better to have expectations than not, and if Palmer and the Cardinals can live up to them, this could be a magical season in Arizona.
