Cardinals Labeled Dark Horse Super Bowl Contenders

The Arizona Cardinals can be a sneaky team.

Nov 10, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) warms up before the game against the New York Jets at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals? Super Bowl contenders? What year is this?

Jonathan Gannon will tell you it's 2024, and these aren't your typical Cardinals after Arizona has taken a 6-4 lead in the NFC West, defying all odds and thoughts of the organization entering the season.

What once felt like a dream now sits as a high possibility: The Cardinals are in a good spot for the playoffs with odds higher than 50% across the board for them to make the postseason at this point in time.

Are Super Bowl aspirations a reach?

The Athletic has them listed as dark horse contenders.

When evaluating odds to win the big game, teams such as the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs obviously sit at the top.

Yet a bit lower, mixed with the Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota Vikings and Washington Commanders, were the Cardinals.

"Further down the board, the Arizona Cardinals are also outperforming expectations. After a slow start, the Cardinals (+5000) have won five of their last six games," wrote Hannah Vanbiber.

"They’ve quietly beaten several contenders this year, including the Rams, 49ers, Chargers and Dolphins (with Tagovailoa). Kyler Murray has a QBR of 74.9, good enough for third in the league, and the Cardinals lead the bafflingly close NFC West by one game.

"But being in the top half of the league isn’t necessarily a sign of dominance. Arizona’s upcoming matchup with the Seattle Seahawks could be telling."

The Cardinals have a slightly below average strength of schedule to finish the year, as their .479 SOS is tied for 18th in terms of toughest matchups remaining on Tankathon.