Don't Be Surprised to See Cardinals in Playoff Hunt

The Arizona Cardinals could find themselves in contention late this season.

Arizona Cardinals cornerback Max Melton (16) warms up before a preseason game on Aug. 10, 2024 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale. / Owen Ziliak/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals aren't exactly favorites to hold the Lombardi with confetti falling around them this season. Nor are they expected to make a deep push in the NFC playoff picture - let alone contend for their division.

It's rare to see a squad such as the 4-13 Cardinals turn things around in one season, though we've seen a few examples in recent memory to show that rebuilds may not be a 4-5 year process as previously thought - take in example last year's Houston Texans.

Arizona, with a healthy Kyler Murray and revamped offense, looks to replicate that success in 2024 under the second-year coaching of Jonathan Gannon.

There's still gaps aplenty on this squad, though the Cardinals weren't expected to fix everything over the course of one offseason cycle. Despite Arizona still being in their "rebuild" phase, things are much further along thanks to the work of general manager Monti Ossenfort to start his tenure.

Wandering eyes are looking for Arizona to play well enough to extend their season past Week 18.

"The Cardinals seem to have somehow become a consensus fun/frisky team for 2024. Kyler Murray flashed some upside last year in this intriguing offense, and after floating in purgatory last offseason, the Cards firmly committed to their QB this offseason, doubling down and getting him Marvin Harrison Jr. as an elite WR to pair with Trey McBride," wrote CBS Sports in their NFL season win-loss predictions, which has Arizona at seven wins for 2024.

"Michael Wilson and Greg Dortch are suddenly nice little secondary weapons in this offense. Jonathan Gannon's intro presser experience gave a lot of people reasonable pause about the coaching in Arizona, but maybe he's just a Nick Sirriani clone but on defense, as the coaching was strong in Arizona last year. This is still a rebuilding project, especially in a really tough division, but it wouldn't shock me if the Cards were in the playoff hunt late, especially if the defense takes any kind of step forward."

To quote Jim Mora: Playoffs?????

Plenty of dominoes have to fall for Arizona to make a serious push for the postseason.

The secondary and pass rush unit both needs names to step up to uphold the defensive side of the ball.

Murray needs to not only stay healthy for an entire season, but show signs of reaching the next level of play as a quarterback. His weapons need to prove themselves as more than just potential on paper, too.

As a coaching staff, Gannon, OC Drew Petzing and DC Nick Rallis also have to grow in their respective roles.

CBS Sports isn't the only outlet to suggest the Cardinals could be a force deep in the season.

Pro Football Network's playoff predictor has the Cardinals finishing at 11-6 and clinching a playoff spot:

PFN's Playoff Predictor projects the 2024 #NFL playoff picture. 👀

What do you think the playoffs will look like? pic.twitter.com/CVflLJ5VEQ

— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) August 12, 2024

Dare to dream?

The Cardinals could look to surprise nearly everybody across the league with a playoff push, though it's certainly not a grotesque proposition like in past years.