Last season, the Arizona Cardinals were 60 minutes away from an appearance in Super Bowl 50. Fast forward to this season, and the Cardinals have a record of 4-5-1 and on the verge of missing out on the playoffs altogether. 

This season especially in the NFC, things have not been going good for teams named the Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers, and Cardinals. All three teams were expected to do great things this season, but all have started to go on a rapid decline. 

Unlike the Packers and Panthers’ decline, many analysts have not paid attention to the Cardinals’ struggles this season and why they are currently sitting in a distant second place in the NFC West.

To start off, let’s talk about the Cardinals’ defense, which was one of the best last season. In 2015, the Cardinals’ defense was ranked second in takeaways (33), sixth in completion percentage (59.9), sixth in rushing defense (91.3), eighth in passing yards per game (230.4), and only gave up 19.3 points per game, good for seventh in the league. To sum up those stats, the Cardinals had a top-tier defense, which helped them win the NFC West and advance to the NFC Championship.

However, the Cardinals’ defense has actually been better this season. Despite Arizona only having 17 takeaways, they are doing a better job in passing (190.2 yards/gm) and scoring defense (19.0 points/gm).

If that is the case, then why do they have five losses on the season? One reason could be the rushing defense. Out of the five losses this season, three times the Cardinals’ defense has given up over 100 rushing yards. The other reason could be that they aren’t getting enough takeaways. In those five losses this season, Arizona’s defense has only managed to get 1-2 turnovers. 

This is a drastic change for a defense that was causing 2-3 turnovers in a lot of games last season, which helped the offense and changed the complexity of games. However, this season that just isn’t happening.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Cardinals haven’t been looking too, particularly Carson Palmer. Palmer, who was playing like an MVP candidate last season, has struggled this season. 

This season, Palmer has completed 61.5 percent of his passes for 2,642 yards, along with 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Not to mention, he’s already been sacked 30 times, which is not his fault as Arizona is missing key pieces on their offensive line. 

While the sacks may not be his fault, the interceptions are and they’re killing drives for the Cardinals. This past Sunday, Palmer threw two interceptions against the Vikings, including an interception to cornerback Xavier Rhodes, who ran it back for 100 yards, giving momentum back to Minnesota and helping them win the game.

Last season, Palmer only had 11 interceptions with the same weapons that he has this year. Palmer’s play must improve over these last six games if the Cardinals want to sniff a wild card spot in the playoffs. 

But he isn’t the only player on offense, who is struggling. The Cardinals’ wide receiver unit is struggling as whole. Third-year wideout John Brown, who was set to take off this season, was hampered by a concussion in the preseason and hasn’t been playing like himself.

This season, Brown has 30 receptions (58 targets) for 380 yards and a touchdown. Last season, Brown was targeted 101 times and had 65 receptions for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns. Nevertheless, the Cardinals need their deep threat to be a factor because if not, it constricts the offense.

Brown isn’t the only wide receiver who is struggling. Michael Floyd has also been a non-factor this season. Floyd only has 26 receptions for 379 yards and three touchdowns. Not to mention, Floyd has two games with zero receptions and three games with two receptions. Add the numbers together and that’s half the season with little to no impact.

Although, there are two players on offense, who have been consistent and reliable this season and that is Larry Fitzgerald and David Johnson. Johnson, the second-year running back out of the University of Northern Iowa, who surprised everyone last season a rookie has not disappointed this season. 

This season, Johnson has been a consistent threat out the backfield and a receiver. In terms of running the ball, he surpassed his total from last season (581) with 863 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also did the same catching the ball as he has 510 receiving yards and two touchdowns, in comparison to last season, when he had 457 receiving yards and four touchdowns. 

On the other hand, Fitzgerald, the wily, old veteran is still getting the job done. This season, he already has 74 receptions (106 targets) for 749 yards and five touchdowns. While the touchdowns may not be impressive, the catches and receiving yards are, as he has become a factor playing in the slot.

There are not many wide receivers, who are Fitzgerald’s age that have shown to be as consistently reliable. It just shows how hard he works on his craft during the offseason.

There are many perplexing reasons why the Cardinals are 4-5, but the final question at hand is: Can they make a push for a wild card spot?

It’s tough to answer that question because this is the same team from last year that went to the NFC Championship Game, so you cannot count them out. But on the other hand, their last six games are very tough. 

They have road games against Atlanta, Miami, Seattle, and Los Angeles. While, their only two home games are against Washington and New Orleans. Out of those six games, you cannot guarantee a win. 

At best, the Cardinals may split their last six games and finish the year 7-8-1, which would be an utter disappointment after being 60 minutes away from a Super Bowl berth. If the Cardinals do miss the playoffs, it may be time for them to not retool but rebuild for the future as they have pieces to build around.