Four-game win streaks aren’t rare for many NFL franchises, or even unusual. Six of the 32 teams currently have at least that many consecutive wins.
But in some parts of the league, Arizona for instance, a four-game winning streak is huge news. The Cardinals, who haven’t lost in a month, had not won consecutive games since 2021. They are 6-4 and in first place in the NFC West as they enter their bye week. And for the first time this season, they are betting favorites to make the playoffs.
These are heady times for a franchise that made the playoffs once in the previous eight seasons and has not won a post-season game since 2015 when Bruce Arians was the coach and Carson Palmer was the quarterback.
Hail Larry!
Larry Fitzgerald’s catch in overtime against Green Bay is unforgettable. pic.twitter.com/8rTBBmBNE1
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) January 13, 2022
We reached out this week to Palmer, who retired after the 2017 season and is in the Cardinals ring of honor, to get his thoughts about this Cardinals team.
Palmer lives a busy life in Orange County, Calif., with his wife and four children. He helps coach his oldest son, Fletch, who is a freshman quarterback at Santa Margarita High School, Palmer’s alma mater. (Questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.)
Question: Do you get to see a lot of Cardinals games?
Carson Palmer: “I missed the last couple games, but I try to catch up during the week with highlights, synopsis. They’ve been rockin’ and rollin’. It’s been awesome.”
Q: What do you see that’s allowed them to go from 1-3 against a pretty tough schedule to now 6-4 and atop the NFC West?
CP: “You can just tell they believe in themselves. Even some of those early losses, you could see that frustration on TV. It was like, ‘we’re better than this. I can’t believe we just lost to so and so.’
“It’s such a long season now, with the extra game and all (17 games instead of 16), you got a lot of football. You’ve got to keep grinding. And they’ve kept grinding, finding ways to win and just doing all the little things that make you successful.
“They realized they had a good team. They had some disappointment early, but they are showing what their (true) colors are and playing really good football right now.”
Q: Can you see a difference in quarterback Kyler Murray, just in terms of being all the way back from a severe knee injury suffered in 2022? You went through that twice, once with the Bengals and again with the Cardinals.
CP: “He’s comfortable in the offense but definitely comfortable with his knee finally. It takes a while. You hear, ‘oh, he’s back on the field,’ and people assume everything is back to normal. But it just isn’t. It takes everybody a different amount of time (to return to normal) and every time you (suffer an injury) it takes a different amount of time.
“I just think he’s confident now. He trusts his legs. Whether you are a quarterback like me who didn’t use his legs, or a quarterback like him who does use his legs, you’re naturally tentative, even though the doctors have cleared you, even though the physical therapist says you’re good, even though all the data points from when you’re testing power, strength and explosiveness are up from your baseline. It just takes as much time as it takes.
“You can tell he’s feeling confident in his legs. He’s using them when he wants to. And he looks confident in the guys around him. You could see the frustration on his face early in the season. You don’t see that right now. He’s playing loose.”
Kyler Murray has his 2nd rushing TD 🔥
📺: #NYJvsAZ on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/p3zE6OhoJ2— NFL (@NFL) November 10, 2024
Q: The last couple weeks, the Cardinals offense has been explosive and well-balanced. It’s looked like the offense some of us expected to see, but didn’t, earlier in the season. What have you seen in totality from this offense?
CP: “They can run it, obviously. Kyler being Kyler, he is always a threat. You never know when he can rip off a 30 or 60-yarder. And they can run the ball downhill, aggressive, with an attitude. Defensively, they’re young and fast. And it’s a good combination.”
Q: The Cardinals use two and three tight-end sets as much or more than any team, highlighted by Trey McBride. An elite tight end is something the organization hasn’t had in a long time.
CP: “Especially for a guy like Kyler. A big body like that, especially if you’re moving and maneuvering around the pocket. It’s great to have guys who can get downfield and get you those chunk plays. Those are great. But when you’re moving around the pocket and holding the ball for six, seven seconds and then finding him (McBride) for 8 yards, finding him for 12, those are the backbreakers for defenses.
“The big explosive ones are nice but when you have a guy you trust when everything breaks down, when you have to get outside the pocket and make a guy miss? Just having that ability. ‘Where’s my tight end? I know he can find a hole in the zone’ or ‘I know he can create separation.’ That’s a big thing confidence-wise and lets Kyler use his legs more”
Q: Did you have a tight end like that?
CP: “We just had back luck at tight end. We had guys who just kept getting hurt. We didn’t have any consistency. But we also were in a bunch of four-wide stuff. We moved Larry inside and ran a lot of speed receiver stuff.”
Q: What do you think of the defense? It’s played surprisingly well the last few weeks. Other than safety Budda Baker, there isn’t a big name in that unit.
CP: “No, but you have 10 other guys who are super hungry. Young, fast. They do a bunch of stuff on defense. They can pretty much dial up any coverage. They’re really well coached. And then with Budda, who can knock a ball out, get a sack, or make a big play at any moment, he’s a game breaker. They’re well built.”
Q: The way the Cardinals are playing now, is that sustainable?
CP: “They have to stay healthy. But when you can run the ball with an attitude like (James) Conner does, that gets old, tackling him. That’s no fun. Guys get tired of that in the fourth quarter, trying to get him on the ground. You get into November and December and keep running the ball with that attitude. And then the explosiveness they have with the other backs (Trey Benson and Emari Demercado), I just like the way they are positioned.
“I keep hearing rave reviews about the coach (Jonathan Gannon) and the staff from different buddies around the organization. From top to bottom, they are well positioned. The conference is going to be interesting but they are right where they need to be. Like you say about everybody in November, who is going to stay healthy?”
