Cardinals Stumble Down Week 12 NFL Power Rankings
Such is life when you're the Arizona Cardinals.
After such high expectations, the Cardinals have come to the slow realization that their postseason dreams were exactly that: Dreams.
That was emphasized even further, courtesy of a Monday Night Football beatdown from the San Francisco 49ers.
The Cardinals are now 4-7 on the season, and their current position in power rankings across the web heading into Week 12 reflect as such:
Bleacher Report: No. 19
"Embattled Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury found himself in a familiar position after Monday's NFC West tilt with the San Francisco 49ers: having to explain away another loss.
"This one was particularly painful. The 49ers cruised on offense on the way to a 38-10 blowout. Kingsbury cited the same two-step plan Cardinals fans have become painfully accustomed to. First came credit for the opponent ...
"Arizona has more losses after 11 weeks than it did all last season. There's essentially no chance that this team will make the playoffs. And rather than take a step forward in Kingsbury's fourth year, Arizona has backslid—significantly."
ESPN: No. 20
"What/who is underachieving? Outside pass rush
"The Cardinals' pass rush hasn't been heavily dependent on the edge rushers like it has been in the past. Of Arizona's 19 sacks this season, only 5.5 have been from edge rushers. Last season, at least 15 of the Cardinals' 24 sacks through 10 games were from the edge.
"Losing Chandler Jones has been a major factor in the edge rush's struggles. This season, the Cardinals have relied heavily on an interior push, namely from J.J. Watt and Zach Allen, who account for nine of the 19 sacks. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said those two are, essentially, the Cardinals' pass rush at this point." -- Josh Weinfuss
NFL.com: No. 22
The Cardinals looked disinterested against the 49ers on Monday in Mexico City. By the end of a 38-10 shellacking, after multiple Arizona players made "business decisions" on George Kittle's catch-and-run touchdown in the fourth quarter, Troy Aikman had seen enough from the ESPN booth. "This is embarrassing for the Arizona Cardinals," the Hall of Famer said. "They're a losing football team and they're playing like one on that play." It's just one play, of course, but it speaks to bigger concerns about the culture in Arizona under Kliff Kingsbury. Lack of effort. Lack of results. Maybe we'll see some accountability on Hard Knocks.
The Athletic: No. 22
"Thankful for: Midseason exhibition games in other countries. Hold on. That game counted?"
Yahoo!: No. 24
"It's hard to believe the Cardinals were 7-0 late last October. A little more than a year later, the Cardinals look like they need to fix just about everything. A wholly uncompetitive 38-10 loss to the Cardinals probably leads to what's next on the agenda, and that's figuring out which changes need to be made before next season."
Sports Illustrated: No. 29
"A lost season gets worse. One could make the argument, that if Kyler Murray were lighting the world on fire when he was healthy, this could all be chalked up to bad luck. But ... it's not. Many of Arizona's problems are sown deep. This will take more than a long offseason to untangle."
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