The Consensus Week 2: Cardinals’ battle cry: ‘We’re not Buffalo!’
Sep 12, 2018, 6:01 AM | Updated: 6:33 am
Washington Redskins defense during an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
So, that didn’t go as planned.
Steve Wilks’ debut as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals fell flat as the Washington Redskins left town with a 24-6 win that seemed more one-sided than the score would indicate.
The first-year head coach vowed improvement for Week 2, but that didn’t sway the pundits who produce NFL Power Rankings from around the country.
The Cardinals are in the lower eighth of the league — ranking anywhere from No. 27 on the high side to as low as 31st. If not for the existence of the Buffalo Bills, Arizona might have landed in the NFL cellar in the eyes of some critics.
Here’s a look at where various outlets placed the Cardinals in the Week pecking order.
Low Ranking: #31 – ESPN, NFL.com, SI.com, Bleacher Report, SB Nation
Average Ranking: 29.9
| Outlet | Rankings | Cardinals’ Rank | Movement | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Arizona Sports NFL Week 2 Power Rankings: Patriots on top | #30 | — | Steve Wilks says they deserved the boos. It’s hard to argue. |
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NFL Week 2 Power Rankings: Faces in new places who flashed | #31 | ▼7 | Sam Bradford couldn’t find a groove in his Cardinals debut, going 7-of-16 passing through three quarters as the Cardinals dug themselves a 21-0 hole. Overall, 18.2 percent of his passes for the game were off-target incompletions, his third-highest rate among 18 games played since 2016. |
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NFL Power Rankings, Week 2: Aaron Rodgers restores Packers | #31 | ▼6 | New head coach Steve Wilks comes from a defensive background, most recently in Carolina. Super. His defense got throttled through the air and sea, until the Redskins called off the dogs in the fourth quarter. The Cards were so bad, I can’t even get the phrase right. Air and land. |
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NFL Power Rankings Poll: Patriots Still Holding Off Philly, Bucs Surge Behind FitzMagic | #31 | ▼3 | No comment |
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NFL power rankings: Redskins, Chiefs rise after Week 1, while Titans, Lions tumble | #28 | ▼10 | Preseason feeling like fool’s gold as Arizona lost turnover battle and surrendered 429 yards (more than double what offense generated). |
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NFL Power Rankings: Can the Bears move on from that historic choke job? | #30 | ▼2 | Not sure where the Cardinals go after that performance on Sunday. If you are utterly uncompetitive against Washington at home, which games are you going to win? On the bright side, we’re only four months away from the annual offseason tradition of everyone telling each other than Sam Bradford is actually really good despite what he has shown on the field over his entire NFL career. |
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NFL Week 2 Power Rankings: Packers hold top spot, but Jaguars can stake claim with win over Patriots | #27 | — | That was a dud against the Redskins. If it stays that way for the offense, when do they turn to Josh Rosen? |
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Week Two power rankings | #29 | — | Good news . . . Sam Bradford was able to play the whole game. Bad news . . . Sam Bradford was able to play the whole game. |
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NFL Power Rankings: B/R’s Expert Consensus Rank for Every Team Entering Week 2 | #31 | ▼3 | Bradford doesn’t deserve all the blame for Arizona’s Week 1 face-plant. The team was flat on both offense and defense and was manhandled in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Tailback David Johnson was a non-factor, and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did almost all of his damage in garbage time. |
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NFL power rankings 2018, Week 2: Vikings’ dominant defense propels them to the top | #31 | ▼5 | No comment |
