The Consensus Week 9: Cardinals move up in all 10 rankings
Oct 31, 2018, 7:50 AM
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Josh Rosen (3) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso)
(AP Photo/Ralph Freso)
For the fourth straight season, the Arizona Cardinals have swept the San Francisco 49ers.
This year’s version required a late fourth-quarter comeback engineered by rookie quarterback Josh Rosen to pull off an 18-15 win Sunday at State Farm Stadium.
Both of the Cardinals’ wins this season have come against San Francisco, and that’s enough (at least for this week) to push Arizona up in the battery of NFL Power Rankings we sample from across the internet each week in The Consensus.
Low Ranking: #30 – ESPN
Average Ranking: 28.6
| Outlet | Rankings | Cardinals’ Rank | Movement | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Arizona Sports NFL Power Rankings Week 9: Cardinals hit bye on a high | A nice fourth-quarter comeback by Josh Rosen has some optimistic. | ||
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NFL Week 9 Power Rankings: Scary trends for all 32 teams | To say the Cardinals’ halftime adjustments aren’t working might be the understatement of the season. Arizona has scored just seven points in the third quarter this season — all in Week 7 against Denver — which is the fewest in the NFL. The Cardinals went scoreless in the third quarter through the first six games, making their already-difficult lives even tougher when it came time for them to come back from deficits. In order for the Cardinals to have any hope of turning their season around, they’ll need to find ways to put up points after halftime. | ||
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NFL Power Rankings, Week 9: Panthers, Seahawks on the rise | Larry Fitzgerald played Hall of Fame football Sunday. If I knew how to type the tiny superscript “2” that denotes “squared” after ” Hall of Fame football,” I would, because Fitzgerald was already on his way to breakdancing into Canton on the first ballot. Yet, when rookie quarterback Josh Rosen needed chunk yardage late, he went to Larry Legend (the other Larry Legend). Fitzgerald caught a handful of key Rosen heaves late — from Arizona’s second-to-last touchdown to one that required him to go up and take a hit — to fuel Arizona’s comeback win. After the kid (Christian Kirk) hauled in a Rosen fastball in the back of the end zone, there was Fitz, trucking a Niners defender for the two-point conversion. | ||
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NFL Power Rankings Poll: Rams Still No. 1, Panthers Leap Into Top 5 | The Cardinals are out of the bottom spot thanks to a win in Byron Leftwich’s first game as offensive coordinator. Unlike some of the other teams at the bottom of this list, they do have plenty to play for this year. | ||
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NFL power rankings: Halloween tricks and treats include Eagles’ return to top 10 | if Larry Fitzgerald’s son duped him into spiking a football for the first time in his life … worthwhile ruse, kid. | ||
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NFL Power Rankings: Steelers might end up being the contender we thought they’d be | It’s not ideal that the Cardinals looked so bad for three quarters. But seeing rookie quarterback Josh Rosen lead a fourth-quarter comeback, including a last-minute drive for the win, is the kind of thing that can give Rosen a lot of confidence. It also should give the team a lot of confidence that Rosen is developing right on schedule. | ||
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NFL Week 9 Power Rankings: Rams, Saints set to battle for top spot in NFC, rankings | That was an impressive fourth quarter for Josh Rosen last week. It’s something to build upon. | ||
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Week Nine power rankings | Sweeping the 49ers doesn’t mean what it once did. | ||
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NFL Power Rankings: B/R’s Expert Consensus Rank for Every Team Entering Week 9 | The Cardinals will head into their bye fresh off their best game of the season. The extra week will give new OC Byron Leftwich more time to work on improving the Arizona offense. And then two weeks from now, the Cardinals will travel to Kansas City and come crashing back to reality. Enjoy that good feeling while it lasts, guys. | ||
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NFL power rankings 2018, Week 9: Steelers climb as top 10 teams become clearer | The Jets, Buccaneers, Browns, Cardinals, Bills, Giants, 49ers, and Raiders round out the bottom eight. |
