Week 17 NFL Power Rankings Recap: Arizona Cardinals plummet after blowout loss to Seattle
Dec 24, 2014, 6:20 PM | Updated: 6:21 pm
That faction of people that have been downplaying the Arizona Cardinals’ Super Bowl chances since Carson Palmer went down with a season-ending knee injury finally have a lot of ammunition.
With Drew Stanton, Palmer’s replacement, also sidelined with a knee injury, head coach Bruce Arians turned to Ryan Lindley.
The third-year player made his fifth career start and struggled mightily in a 35-6 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, a decision which gives the defending champs the upper hand in capturing the NFC West crown.
But what may have been more damaging to the Cardinals’ stock around the league was their defensive performance. Seattle racked up a franchise-record 596 yards of offense and had nine plays of 20 yards or more in dismantling Arizona’s defense.
The results in this week’s survey of NFL power rankings from around the internet were predictable.
Week 17 Average Rank: 9.00 (5.94 last week)
Highest Rank: #4 – New York Post
