ARIZONA CARDINALS

We found a rare someone who sees the 2024 Arizona Cardinals as an NFL playoff pick

Sep 3, 2024, 8:48 AM | Updated: Sep 6, 2024, 9:42 am

NFL Network's Kyle Brandt makes the 2024 Arizona Cardinals an NFL playoff pick....

NFL Network's Kyle Brandt makes the 2024 Arizona Cardinals an NFC Wild Card playoff pick. (Screenshot)

(Screenshot)

A scan of season predictions for the 2024 NFL season by a very large margin leaves the Arizona Cardinals out of the playoff picture.

Nobody out of 28 participants in an NFL.com poll, for example, named Arizona as an NFL playoff pick. All three other teams in the NFC West received at least a vote to win the division, while the Cardinals didn’t receive a single vote to make it as a Wild Card squad.

While some football watchers have Kyler Murray on their minds with the expectation that he could leap back into sniffing top-10 quarterback territory, the view of the Cardinals as a whole remains tepid at best.

But not in the opinion of NFL Network’s Kyle Brandt.

“Here’s my sweet, sweet baby. Make sure we’re nice in focus and 1080p because nobody else likely on this show and certainly no other show is going to put this up,” Brandt said Monday before revealing the Cardinals are one of his NFL playoff picks. “Boom! Believe in yourself, kids. Believe in your convictions, be unafraid be committed, get in there and pick the team you love and don’t apologize for squat.

“Big year from this team. Kyler is back. He’s going to become a star. I don’t care how small he is, I care how big his arm is. The Arizona Cardinals are going to grab one of these Wild Cards in the NFC.”

Brandt may be mostly alone, but there is unbiased backing to his bullishness for picking the Cardinals to make the playoffs.

ESPN’s Football Power Index ranks the Cardinals 23rd to begin this season. With it, the model gives Arizona a 19% shot of making the playoffs. The projected win total for that model sits at 7.2 for Arizona, which isn’t good enough to push for a playoff spot but is a significant leap forward compared to last season.

And if the Cardinals steal a win or two extra, suddenly they’re right in the NFL playoff mix.

Arizona Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray warms up...

Tyler Drake

Predicting the Arizona Cardinals’ 2024 record

Before the Arizona Cardinals open up the regular season against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, it's time for one last record prediction for 2024.

8 hours ago

Kyler Murray attempts a pass during Day 1 of joint practices with the Colts...

Dan Bickley

Kyler Murray has entered his now-or-never season with Cardinals

Kyler Murray's time to turn into a star is now or never for the Arizona Cardinals.

10 hours ago

Xavier Weaver is on the Week 1 Arizona Cardinals injury report...

Arizona Sports

Arizona Cardinals injury report: Rookie WR Xavier Weaver out vs. Bills

Xavier Weaver, Tip Reiman and Joey Blount are the only players listed on the Arizona Cardinals injury report for a game against the Buffalo Bills.

11 hours ago

Budda Baker of the Arizona Cardinals is entering a contract season...

Kevin Zimmerman

GM: Arizona Cardinals contract extension talks don’t stop at start of the season

Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort believes that the start of the 2024 season does not always represent a hard deadline to reach contract extensions with his currently employed players.

15 hours ago

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray...

Arizona Sports

Roundtable: The Arizona Cardinals’ best- and worst-case scenarios for 2024

The Arizona Cardinals have reasons to be optimistic about taking a leap from a four-win debut season for the Gannon era.

19 hours ago

Quarterback Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills drops back to pass during the NFL game against the ...

Tyler Drake

Bills to watch in Cardinals’ Week 1 game vs. Buffalo

There are plenty of Buffalo Bills that could have major impacts in their Week 1 season opener against the Arizona Cardinals.

1 day ago

We found a rare someone who sees the 2024 Arizona Cardinals as an NFL playoff pick