Madden 24 Simulates Arizona Cardinals Season

The Arizona Cardinals are less than 24 hours away from their season opener in Washington, and boy - has it been a long offseason.

The Cardinals have undergone a complete overhaul from top to bottom, one that has received plenty of praise for how well they've aligned the dominos in 2024.

As a result of general manager Monti Ossenfort trimming fat off the roster, a new coaching staff and Kyler Murray still unable to play, expectations are low in the desert for the upcoming season.

Nearly everybody has given predictions on what they believe the Cardinals will do, and here at All Cardinals we decided to have a little fun by simulating their 2023 season on EA Sports' Madden NFL 24.

We adjusted the lineups to ensure the Cardinals had the right players on the field and let the computer do the rest.

Here's how the season panned out:

Madden 24 Simulates Arizona Cardinals Season

This season could best be broken into two different categories: Before and after Kyler Murray arrives.

Murray is still on the PUP list and will miss at least the first four games, though he's believed to be realistically coming back around Week 7/8.

Using that timeline, we plugged Josh Dobbs into the starting lineup. Dobbs was able to snag an opening day win against the Commanders before losing his next three games to start 1-3.

Dobbs was able to lead Arizona to a 2-1 stint in the final games (which included an upset win over Cincinnati) before Murray's return in Week 8, pushing the Cardinals to a 3-4 record before their franchise quarterback arrives.

Dobbs finished by completing 68% of his passes for 1,556 yards and 6 touchdowns to an even six interceptions. He had a passer rating of 91.7 and was one of most sacked quarterbacks in the NFL before exiting.

Murray's return wouldn't provide much of a boost, as the Cardinals won just one of their final eight games with him at the helm to finish 4-13.

Murray ended the year completing 55% of his passes for 178.1 YPG. He threw for 7 TD to 15 INT and was sacked 26 times in ten games.

The Cardinals finished dead last in offense and 31st in total defense, just above the New Orleans Saints.

James Conner averaged a mere 3.6 yards per carry and Arizona's -10 turnover difference was the worst in the NFL. So too was their 14.1 points per game.

Marquise Brown led the team with 986 yards on 73 rec for 6 TD while rookie Michael Wilson wasn't far behind him, reeling in 74 rec for 911 yards and three TD.

Defensively, Kyzir White led the team with 113 total tackles and also 4 sacks. He was second on the team with three interceptions.

Finally - the grand question - where did Arizona land in terms of draft position?

Their 4-13 record landed them with the No. 5 overall pick. Below is the top five draft order:

Miami Dolphins (3-14)
Arizona Cardinals (via Houston Texans 3-14)
Chicago Bears (4-13)
Washington Commanders (4-13)
Arizona Cardinals (4-13)

So, congrats to the Dolphins for unexpectedly winning the Caleb Williams sweepstakes. Perhaps he'll reconsider staying at USC after this season.

Jokes aside, the simulation didn't feel that far off from what is deemed "realistic" for the Cardinals this season and is on par with other predictions off the virtual gridiron.