NFL Power Rankings Roundup Week 9: Cardinals move up again
Nov 4, 2015, 3:34 PM | Updated: 11:06 pm
Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians celebrates after the Cardinals defeated the Cleveland Browns 34-20 in an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)
(AP Photo/David Richard)
When compiling NFL power rankings, media outlets consider the outcomes of entire games and not first-half performances.
That’s a good thing for the Arizona Cardinals. Last week in Cleveland, Bruce Arians’ team played a dreadful first half, committing two turnovers and falling behind 20-10 to a bad Browns team.
But they responded in the second half behind a spirited defensive effort and three second-half touchdown passes from Carson Palmer in a 34-20 win. The victory pushed Arizona’s record to 6-2 on the season — good enough for a 1.5-game lead over the St. Louis Rams in the NFC West heading into a Week 9 bye.
Every week on ArizonaSports.com, we take a look at where the Cardinals stand in ten different power rankings.
NFL Power Rankings, Week 9: Broncos make move at midseason
#6 (up 3 spots)
Hey, Saturday was Halloween — so cool of the Cardinals to give their fans a real scare in Cleveland. It was also appropriate for 2015, as the so-called “quality” teams have been falling aplenty to the lower-barrel clubs. On another note, with the Packers getting crushed in Denver, the argument for Arizona being the premier club in the NFC certainly picked up steam. The Cards continue to feed off takeaways (putting up 10 points off turnovers on Sunday) while averaging 32.7 points per game, second to only the top team in the NFL, the Patriots.
2015 NFL Power Rankings: Week 9
#6 (holding steady)
Carson Palmer leads the NFL in Total QBR (85) and his 20 touchdown passes are tied with Tom Brady for most in the league. No Cardinals quarterback has ever thrown more than 30 touchdown passes in a season.
NFL Power Rankings Week 9: Grades for every team at midway point
#8 (holding steady)
Their team’s placement behind St. Louis here makes Cardinals fans Most Likely to Be Mad at This Week’s Power Rankings. They could have a point. Arizona ranks top 10 on offense and defense, and hit the halfway point at 6–2. But the Cardinals also have looked vulnerable four of the past five weeks; they’ve coughed the ball up 11 times in that stretch.
2015 NFL Power Rankings: Week 9
#5 (up 1 spot)
It’s never easy to win a road game, in a different time zone, on a short week, but Bruce Arians’ group finds ways to consistently win. He should be on everyone’s Coach of the Year short list again.
NFL Power Rankings: Where Does Every Team Rank Heading into Week 9?
#6 (holding steady)
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer doesn’t look like an elderly passer who’s still not far removed from his second ACL tear and will turn 36 years old in December. No, he looks like a much-younger version of himself.
Palmer threw four touchdown passes Sunday as his Cardinals beat the Cleveland Browns, and three came during a second-half surge when Arizona scored 24 points. He’s averaging an incredible 9.2 yards per attempt and is now on pace for 40 touchdown passes, which would easily be a career-high single-season record.
2015 NFL power rankings, Week 9: Broncos, Cardinals gain ground; Jets, Falcons fall
#5 (up 2 spots)
In the NFC, the Panthers and Cardinals look like the top dogs following the Packers’ beatdown at the hands of the Broncos. Arizona got 109 rushing yards and four touchdown passes from Carson Palmer to take out the Browns on the road, while Cam Newton and the Panthers survived a Colts comeback to win in overtime and stay unbeaten.
NFL Power Rankings: Unbeatens impress, but too many bad teams
#6 (up 1 spot)
They head to their bye at 6-2, the second consecutive season that they’ve had more than six wins at the midway point. They were 7-1 last season. They face a big one in two weeks with Seattle.
NFL Power Rankings: Denver’s defense could carry Broncos all the way
#6 (up 2 spots)
It’ll be fun to see them get tested at Seattle and vs. Cincinnati after the bye. Win those two, then maybe they really are the team that can challenge the Packers for the NFC.
PFT’s Week Nine power rankings
#6 (up 2 spots)
Ready or not, prime time is coming for the Cardinals in each of their next two games.
#6 (holding steady)
Young man’s game? Thirtysomethings Carson Palmer, Larry Fitzgerald, Chris Johnson and Dwight Freeney sparked Cleveland comeback.
