The Consensus Week 5: Cardinals running out of room to fall

It is 2019.

Believe us. It is.

If you’re an Arizona Cardinals fan, it may feel a lot like 2018, however. For the second straight season, the Redbirds have completed a winless September, arriving at their 0-3-1 mark with a 27-10 thud versus Seattle last Sunday at State Farm Stadium.

The silver lining (if you choose to look at it that way) is that there are three or four other teams who have looked more wretched than Arizona has during the season’s first quarter.

Here’s a quick rundown of what some of the leading national perspective are saying about the Cardinals and where they rank heading into a Week 5 road trip to visit the Cincinnati Bengals.

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High Ranking: 27 (Bleacher Report, The Athletic, The Big Lead)

Low Ranking: 30 (Pro Football Talk)

Week 3 Average Ranking: 28.3 (Down from 27.6 in Week 4)

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Week 5 NFL Power Rankings: 1-32 poll, plus how to improve playoff chances

This Week: 28 

Movement: —

Comment: How to increase their playoff chances: Run. The. Table. There’s really no other choice for the Cardinals if they want to even sniff the postseason. They have the third-lowest odds of making the playoffs as it is already. But going undefeated in their final 12 games is about as unlikely as them making the playoffs at the moment. There are ways the Cardinals can get better and win games, especially when it comes to their red zone production, but nothing at this point will, realistically, get them to the playoffs.

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NFL Power Rankings, Week 5: Saints re-enter top 3; Rams slide

This Week: 29 

Movement: —

Comment: So far, no good for the Cardinals‘ hypothetically explosive offense. Kyler Murray and Co. never got it going on Sunday against the Seahawks, managing just one touchdown drive in 10 possessions in a 27-10 loss. The final score would look a little more respectable if Zane Gonzalez hadn’t missed two first-half field-goal tries, but Kliff Kingsbury has a lot of work to do. The Cardinals are averaging just 18.5 points per game during their 0-3-1 start — it’s simply not enough output in support of a talent-poor Arizona defense in the midst of a total rebuild. At least Arizona still has running back David Johnson, who accumulated 139 yards of offense (including 99 yards receiving) and generally is moving with the fluidity of his best days when the Cardinals can get him the ball in space. The man needs help.

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NFL Power Rankings Poll Week 5: Chiefs Take Over the Top, Eagles and Bears Climb

This Week: 29

Movement: ▼1

Comment: Kyler Murray has attempted 169 passes in his first four NFL games. Only two QBs in NFL history have thrown more in their first four: Andrew Luck and … Mike Glennon?

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NFL power rankings: New teams crack top five as Cowboys, Ravens tumble out

This Week: 29

Movement: ▼1

Comment: So … can you still dub your offense an “Air Raid” attack when you’re averaging fewer than 5 yards per play? Just sayin’ …

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NFL Power Rankings: Adam Thielen was right about problems with Kirk Cousins and Vikings

This Week: 28

Movement: ▼1

Comment: The Cardinals showed some signs of life late against the Lions in Week 1, and then played the Ravens pretty well the following week. Since then they’ve been horrible. They were also horrible in the first three quarters against Detroit. Kliff Kingsbury’s offense hasn’t fooled anyone.

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NFL Week 5 Power Rankings: 49ers, Seahawks make big jump as just three unbeaten teams remain

This Week: 29

Movement: ▼2

Comment: They have all kinds of issues right now. When will they win a game? At least they have the tie.

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PFT’s Week Five power rankings

This Week: 30

Movement: ▼1

Comment: Kyler Murray has lost as many games in a month as he did in his entire high school and college careers.

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NFL Power Rankings: B/R’s Consensus Rank for Every Team Entering Week 5

This Week: 27

Movement: —

Comment: Four weeks into the 2019 NFL season, something has become painfully clear in the Valley of the Sun.

The 2019 Cardinals may be a bit more fun to watch than the 2018 iteration, but that doesn’t make them any better.

Rookie quarterback Kyler Murray has been OK, but not much more—he’s thrown just four touchdown passes, an equal number of interceptions and has a passer rating of less than 80. Kliff Kingsbury’s supposedly high-octane offense ranks 24th in the NFL in yards per game and 24th in scoring, at just 18.5 points per game.

 

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NFL power rankings: Week 5 update

This Week: 28

Movement: ▼1

Comment: Kyler Murray continues his roller-coaster ride of running and passing, and the defense continues have similar ups and downs without Patrick Peterson. Kliff Kingsbury still has a lot of work ahead of him.

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NFL Power Rankings: A very weird Week 4 has Eagles flying and Vikings in free fall

This Week: 27

Movement: —

Comment: We didn’t pick the word depressing to describe the Cardinals after four weeks. Larry Fitzgerald did. And while we’d love to spend this space talking about how fun the Air Raid offense is and how much Kyler Murray is developing, Fitzgerald is right. It’s just depressing to realize just how far the Cardinals have to go to be competitive with the Seahawks and the other teams in their division.

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Week 5 NFL Power Rankings

This Week: 27

Movement: —

Comment: The Cardinals are a fun offensive team, even if they aren’t particularly good. That’s all that was required in the first year of the new era of Arizona football. They’ll struggle to win more than a few games and will get dominated by the best, but the scheme alone will keep things interesting among the bottom half of opponents in the league.

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