Listen to NFL Vegas sharps RJ Bell and Steve Fezzik join Jonas Knox on ‘Straight Out of Vegas’ to preview the 22nd ranked team on their 2020 win/total prediction rankings, the Detroit Lions.
After the horrors of the Josh Rosen era that humiliatingly only lasted one season for the former first round pick, the Cardinals are quickly on the rise as one of the league’s most interesting teams heading into 2020 with second-year dynamo quarterback Kyler Murray, and second-year offensive maestro Kliff Kingsbury.
The team only jumped from 3-13 in 2018, to 5-11 in 2019, but their point differential went up from a morbid -200, to a tolerable -81, because of a Rookie of the Year season from Murray. The former Heisman and first round MLB Draft pick by the Oakland Athletics threw for 3,722 yards and 20 touchdowns, and also rushed for 544 yards and four touchdowns – impressively finishing 15th in the league in QBR ahead of big names the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Philip Rivers, and Jared Goff.
Despite playing in the scariest division in football, the NFC West, with brutes like the Rams, Seahawks, and 49ers, the Cardinals were one of the most talked about teams in the offseason for their blockbuster trade to acquire potential Hall of Fame wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Texans. Hopkins is 27 years old, and will surely take the burden off of aging, yet effective Larry Fitzgerald, who led the Cardinals in receiving yards last year (804) at the age of 36.
During the winter the Cardinals loaded up on defensive personnel to help repair a unit that allowed the most yards in the league. Arizona signed linebacker De’Vondre Campbell from the Falcons, linebacker Devon Kennard from the Giants, and defensive lineman Jordan Phillips from the Bills, and in the 2020 NFL Draft selected Clemson safety/linebacker phenom Isaiah Simmons.
The Cardinals are 50-1 to win the Super Bowl, 7/1 to win the NFC West, and 2/1 to make the playoffs.
Check out the segment above.