Three Bold Predictions for Remainder of Season
The Arizona Cardinals are all but officially off their bye week and now prepare for a Monday Night Football meeting with the New England Patriots to begin the rest of their voyage.
The Cardinals hope the week of rest has been vital in their attempt to get healthy, as major pieces such as Rodney Hudson, Will Hernandez, Byron Murphy and Rondale Moore hope to return sooner than later.
What changes will we see from the Cardinals moving forward? What can we expect out of Arizona to finish the schedule?
Three Bold Predictions for Remainder of Cardinals' Season
1. Kliff Kingsbury Remains in Charge
The bye week afforded the Cardinals a perfect opportunity to rid themselves of Kliff Kingsbury and get a head start on their coaching search for 2023 and beyond. The Cardinals opted to retain Kingsbury despite the current mess.
At this point, the move to not dismiss Kingsbury shows owner Michael Bidwill still has some belief in the current process, and the Cardinals have now essentially committed themselves for at least the remainder of the regular season to Kingsbury.
Plenty could happen between then and now, but at this moment in time a change in leadership just looks unlikely. Kingsbury appears to be safe despite the noise.
2. Cardinals Win Three or More Games to Finish
The first prediction may not qualify as bold. This may be exceeding the bold category considering the current state of the team.
However, the duo of Marquise Brown-DeAndre Hopkins has provided a lift to Arizona's offense that would further be amplified with the return of a few starting offensive linemen.
Can the Cardinals build some momentum? The rest of their schedule is as followed:
New England
AT Denver
Tampa Bay
AT Atlanta
AT San Francisco
The only team above .500 on that slate is San Francisco, who just lost Jimmy Garoppolo to a broken foot.
Should Arizona somehow find their footing and get healthy, winning three of those five remaining games doesn't sound out of the question.
3. James Conner Scores in Every Game
Last season, we saw James Conner's nose for the end zone shine with a total of 18 touchdowns.
This year has been a bit different, whether it be due to injury or other factors.
However, Arizona's No. 1 rusher has shaken off a rough start and has found his familiar form. His most recent performance against the Chargers (120 rushing yards, 3 receptions and one receiving TD) saw Conner score his fourth touchdown in three games.
The Cardinals are committed to feeding Conner:
"To have a running back on safeties, which is what you want to be able to have especially. He had 20 plus carries. Those guys were worn out, yards after contact. Him just wearing down their secondary was really good for us," said OL Kelvin Beachum following the game vs. Los Angeles.
With Conner finding his form, no backs to eat into his workload, a healthier offensive line and a reloaded passing attack, all the opportunity is there for Conner to celebrate plenty more touchdowns.
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