Here’s what people were saying about the Arizona Cardinals about a year ago: They were a team that was caught tampering in the process of hiring Jonathan Gannon, the defensive coordinator of a team that gave up 38 points in the Super Bowl, and overlaying him atop a flamed-out franchise that featured a quarterback unable to play for most of the 2023 season due to a torn ACL. The coach’s first introduction to the public world was a horribly-edited speech about public transportation and gut irritation.
Here’s what we missed until Sunday, when the team blasted the New York Jets 31–6 to retain sole possession of first place in a division with three of the (other) smartest coaches in the NFL: That first year, Arizona’s first two losses were by a combined seven points; in Week 8, the offense put up 24 puts on a world-beating Baltimore Ravens defense with a combination of Joshua Dobbs, Emari Demercado and Rondale Moore; and the team finished the final eight games of the season as one of the 10 most efficient offenses in the NFL in terms of EPA per play.
