Arizona Cardinals Underdogs Again in Week 1

The Arizona Cardinals opened up the 2021 season as underdogs before defeating the Titans 38-13. Can they recreate that opening week success?

The Arizona Cardinals are in a familiar position. Set to take on the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 11, they enter the contest as underdogs and it isn't hard to see why. The Chiefs have been to four straight AFC Championship games and two Super Bowls in the past four seasons. They are an NFL powerhouse. 

On the other hand, the Cardinals are still proving they belong in the upper echelons of the National Football League. The team has gotten progressively better every season with Kliff Kingsbury at the helm and Kyler Murray as quarterback. 

However, there are still plenty of reasons why fans and pundits alike are hesitant about the team, even coming off an 11-6 season. 

Serious breakdowns of the offense in the second half of the season have plagued the team for two straight years. Not to mention, the last memory fans have of Kyler Murray on the field was in an embarrassing blowout loss to division rivals, the Los Angeles Rams, in the Wildcard round. 

That being said, Arizona has been in this position before. Before the start of the 2021 season, not many football media personalities would have come out and predicted a win for the Cardinals in Nashville against Derrick Henry and the Tennessee Titans. Not only did Arizona win, but by a margin that very few could have expected, 38-13. 

The line for that game right before kickoff stopped at TEN -2.5, a margin which the Cardinals completely obliterated on the back of stellar performances from Chandler Jones (5 sacks) and Kyler Murray (289 yards, 4 touchdowns). 

ESPN had ranked the Titans No. 9 in their last NFL Power Ranking before the start of the 2021 season. Now, in preparation for the new 2022 season, they have the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 4 and most betting lines maintain somewhere between -3.5 and -4.5 in favor of the Chiefs. 

It is clear that the Cardinals have a tough task ahead of them with a team as established and successful as the Chiefs coming to Glendale in Week 1. Still, there are a few signs in the air that could point to another successful opening weekend for the home team. 

1. Kansas City will have an adjustment period without Tyreek Hill

The loss of one of the most dangerous weapons in the league can't be overstated. Tyreek Hill was a massive part of how the Kansas City offense functioned under Andy Reid and it will take some adjustments to have the same sort of offensive success without him. There is no doubt that Reid and Mahomes will eventually figure it out, so it works in the Cardinals' favor facing the Chiefs early in the season. 

2. The absence of DeAndre Hopkins makes the Cardinals hard to plan for

It does seem counterintuitive to say that the loss of one of the best receivers in football could be a pro, but in this case, it makes the Cardinals offense much more mysterious. Of course, having Hopkins on the field is always better than not, but his absence makes it harder for defensive coordinators to anticipate how to shut down an offense that has no shortage of other talented receivers. At least with Hopkins out there, the DC knows he has to be double covered or similarly taken care of. With him out, there is a great deal of mystery regarding who is going to take his place. Do you double Marquise Brown and let an aging, but still talented AJ Green, take over the game? What about the younger bottom half of the roster that has speed like Rondale Moore, Greg Dortch, or even Andy Isabella? That is a lot to think about for Steve Spagnuolo. 

3. Kyler Murray can take advantage of an average secondary

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A lot has been made this offseason about the potential troubles for the Arizona Cardinals secondary and many of those concerns are well-founded. They are not, however, the only team in this matchup with an average at best group of cornerbacks and safeties. 

Rookie Trent McDuffie was promising in college and L'Jarius Sneed has proven serviceable, but with the departure of Tyran Mathieu in free agency, the Chiefs are suffering from a lack of star power at this position just as much as the Cardinals. According to PFF.com, Kyler Murray was the best deep passer in the league in 2021 and it is reasonable to believe he can take advantage of the Chiefs' secondary on September 11. 

Without having seen either of these teams play in 2022 it is impossible to accurately predict who will win, but it is not unreasonable to believe the Arizona Cardinals could recreate some of that Week 1 magic from last season and upset the vaunted Kansas City Chiefs. 

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