Arizona

Fact or Fiction: Can Cardinals Make the Playoffs?

Published

1 year ago

November 14, 2024

Fact or Fiction: Can Cardinals Make the Playoffs?

ARIZONA–The Arizona Cardinals are exceeding expectations through 10 games. At 6-4, coming off four straight convincing wins, they hold a lead in the NFC West.

The offense is clicking, quarterback Kyler Murray is playing exceptional football, the defense looks like a different unit to the first six weeks, and plenty of young players are coming into their own. But anything can happen in football.

The Cardinals still have plenty of work to do, but they’re sitting in a position almost no one expected. New ceilings must be installed. For now, let’s take a look at some of the potential outcomes, and whether those narratives are fact or fiction:

The Cardinals have seven very winnable games ahead of them. 7-0 is likely not on the table, but it’s quite realistic to see them go anywhere around 4-3 or 5-2. Finishing with 10 or 11 wins should be enough to make the playoffs, as long as they continue to take care of their divisional opponents.

The Seahawks and Rams are both weak, and the 49ers, while always a threat, aren’t as dominant as they have been. Going 3-1 or better in their divisional matchups would nearly guarantee a playoff spot, if not the division title.

Still, I think it’s more likely the Cardinals sneak into a Wild Card spot, especially with the unpredictable nature of divisional matchups. Most of the NFC teams outside the playoff bubble are quite weak, however three of the four teams closest to a playoff spot currently are the very same divisional opponents the Cardinals will face in LA, Seattle and San Francisco.

Therefore, those divisional games will be critical to their ultimate appearance in the postseason, but it’s a very reasonable expectation to see a 10-7 Cardinals team play in January. It’s hard to truly predict this, especially with Arizona’s history of struggling down the stretch, but this is a much different team than the Kliff Kingsbury years.

Tentatively, it’s realistic that the Cardinals can take care of business under the new regime, with some padding in their schedule in the form of the Panthers and Patriots.

Kyler Murray has been playing some of the best football we’ve seen from him in Arizona. Coming off an ACL tear and a rusty 2023 season, there were certainly some days where the Cardinals could have wanted more from their franchise quarterback in 2024.

But as has the rest of the squad, Murray has gotten hot over the past four games, playing well even when not called upon to deliver volume production. He’s been efficient, calm in the pocket, a leader, and both decisive and accurate for the most part.

Coupled with his top tier elusiveness and speed, and he’s produced 2,429 total yards and 16 total touchdowns with only three interceptions and four fumbles (two of which were charged to him on poor exchanges by his running back).

He’s completing nearly 70% of his passes coming off a 22-for-24 day, is averaging his most yards per attempt (7.5) since his excellent 2021 season, and remains among the NFL’s best in limiting turnover-worthy plays.

Projected out, Murray is on pace for 4,179 total yards, 27 total touchdowns and only five interceptions, and could realistically surpass those numbers by a large margin, considering how many low-volume days Murray put forward in the first half.

Despite the low raw production, Murray is second in QBR (75.7), and sixth in EPA (48.7). He’s coming off his sixth NFC Offensive Player of the Week Award for his efforts against New York, the most ever by a Cardinals quarterback.

The truth is, Murray will be a long shot to actually take home the award. Lamar Jackson and his 3,207 total yards and staggering 26 total touchdowns is the frontrunner and likely recipient. Barring some kind of injury or severe regression, it’s Jackson’s to lose, and Murray’s numbers probably won’t come close.

But the fact of the matter is that in intangible terms, Murray has been exceptionally valuable to the Cardinals, and is making both highlight-reel plays and the calm, mundane plays that keep Arizona’s engine running.

While he’s not a serious threat to win MVP as of now, he absolutely deserves to be in the conversation, and if he keeps up this pace, with Arizona continuing to win games, the 27-year-old signal-caller should receive votes.

Many, especially opposing fans or those in the national media, might be shocked at what the Cardinals are doing. Certainly, it’s been impressive, perhaps surprising to some degree.

But when examined, the Cardinals aren’t truly defying all odds, or playing too far beyond what their potential was ahead of the year. When the 2023 season ended, it felt like the most positive 4-13 season fans could have hoped for.

There was always hope that Arizona, in the second year of their rebuild, could put together plenty of competitive games, hang with some of the contenders, and finish somewhere around eight or nine wins.

But now, at 6-4 and in control of the division, many are claiming overperformance by this team. Yes, the defense has looked excellent, maybe it’s surprising just how dominant they’ve been in their four straight wins.

But the Cardinals are right where they should be in a weak NFC. Their division rivals are struggling, and they survived their schedule gauntlet with a .500 record. That might be a little better than expected, but not to the point of disbelief.

The defense has played beyond their projections, yes, but the offense has been inconsistent up until the past two games. To pull ahead against teams the caliber of the Bears and Jets should be the expectation, not a bonus.

With a very thin team, and the two blowouts at the hands of the Commanders and Packers, expectations might have been skewed by recency bias, but a team that hovers around or just above .500 was always the goal, and failure to reach that threshold would have been a disappointment, rather than the expectation.

The Cardinals have plenty of holes still to fill, especially on defense, and they’re not out of the woods. Winning the West or making a deep playoff run would certainly warrant “ahead of schedule” talks, but for now, the Cardinals are simply playing as well as was reasonable to expect, despite some of the uneducated 4-13 (or worse) predictions from the national media.

I’ve wrongly predicted plenty of losses through this team’s season thus far, but for now, I’m buying in that this is who this team is, and who they are built to be, rather than a flash of greatness in a fleeting patchwork project.

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Arizona

Kroger, Albertsons sued by Arizona, seven other states seeking antitrust lawsuit expense reimbursement

Published

22 minutes ago

April 7, 2026

Press Room

Kroger, Albertsons sued by Arizona, seven other states seeking antitrust lawsuit expense reimbursement

Kroger Co. and Albertsons Cos. Inc. have been sued by Arizona and seven other states and the District of Columbia, all of which are seeking to be reimbursed for costs they incurred while fighting a merger between the two grocers that later failed on antitrust grounds.

The coalition of plaintiffs, which also includes the Federal Trade Commission, is seeking $10.3 million from Cincinnati-based supermarket giant Kroger and Boise, Idaho-based grocery rival Albertsons, according to the lawsuit filed March 31 in U.S. District Court in Portland, Ore.

Kroger is the parent company of Fry’s Food Stores in the Valley, and Albertsons owns the Safeway brand in Arizona.

Read more of this story from the Business Journal.

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Arizona

Avoiding AC fire risks while staying cool in Arizona

Published

12 hours ago

April 7, 2026

Press Room

Avoiding AC fire risks while staying cool in Arizona

Amid the ongoing spring heat, Arizona is in store for even hotter summer months. FOX 10’s Irene Snyder learns how Arizonans can stay safe and cool, while avoiding fire risks.

Posted April 6, 2026 5:49pm MST

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Arizona

Arizona men’s basketball closes out their historic season

Published

1 day ago

April 6, 2026

Press Room

Arizona men’s basketball closes out their historic season

The University of Arizona men’s basketball team closes out their historic season after losing to the University of Michigan in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats had a tremendous season, breaking program records and earning several different recognitions and awards.

Over the course of the season, the Wildcats dominated with a 36-3 run, breaking the program record for most wins in program history. Previously, this record was 35 wins during the 1987-98 season.

Many of Arizona’s players were recognized for their outstanding work during the season. Notably, senior Jaden Bradley was named Big 12 Player of the Year. Freshman Koa Peat and Bradley were selected to the West All-Region team. Peat also earned the Most Outstanding Player across the western regionals. Another notable recognition was Bradley and freshman Brayden Burries earning All-American honors.

Head coach Tommy Lloyd also received lots of well deserved praise for the way he led this team. He was named Big 12 Coach of the Year and Naismith Coach of the Year. After much discourse during the coaching carousel and the possible coaching job at the University of North Carolina, Lloyd recently agreed to a five-year contract extension with Arizona.

Regular Season Dominance

Right off the bat, the Wildcats showed promise in their team. The Red-Blue showcase was a great introduction to the team and demonstration of their talent for this upcoming season. As many predicted, they dominated in the preseason matchups against Saint Mary’s College and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, blowing both teams out of the water.

Arizona continued to exert this dominance in their non-conference start to the season in November against tougher opponents. Their first competition was against the reigning NCAA Champions, No. 3 University of Florida, in Las Vegas. The Wildcats took the win 93-87, which was just the start of what was to come. Koa Peat made his college debut with a bang and proved he was a force to reckon with. Peat recorded 30 points on his debut, which also turned out to be his career high. When Arizona took the win against Florida, this was eye opening for a lot of people about the promise and talent that this team had to offer.

They had a close call against UCLA about two weeks later, taking the victory by a mere 4 points, 69-65. Arizona jumped significantly in the rankings since playing Utah Tech, where they were ranked No. 13, to taking the No. 5 spot. They only continued to climb in the AP rankings, inching up one position at a time. They were ranked No. 4 when they took the victory against No. 3 University of Connecticut, who won the national championship back in 2024. This win was just five days after they beat UCLA.

The Wildcats jumped right past the No. 3 spot after the UConn victory to the No. 2 spot as they took on the University of Denver, Norfolk State University and No. 20 Auburn University at home. After these three games, the Wildcats hit double digits and were holding a 10-0 record.

Christmas came early for the Wildcats as they grabbed the No. 1 spot in the AP polls in early December before playing No. 12 University of Alabama. Arizona held the No. 1 spot for nine consecutive weeks, which broke the program record that was previously held at eight weeks. They closed out their 2025 by adding four more victories to their roster, along with that No. 1 position.

After a notable regular season run, the Wildcats established themselves as a force to be reckoned with. They became the first team in AP Poll history to beat five ranked teams in their first nine games.

Undefeated Conference Run

The Wildcats began their new year and conference season on the road as they took their first Big 12 victory, 97-78, against the University of Utah. The following Wednesday, the Wildcats returned home for their first conference game in the McKale Center to face another team of Wildcats, Kansas State University. They blew them out of the water, taking a 101-76 victory. Throughout the course of the season, Arizona had 17 wins where they took the victory by 20+ points.

They continued asserting their dominance on both their home court and on the road. The first rivalry game of the season against ASU was a close one, but Arizona came out unscathed taking an 89-82 win. The Wildcats picked up three more wins against the University of Central Florida, the University of Cincinnati and West Virginia University before heading back to Utah to take on No. 13 BYU.

This was a close victory with the Wildcats beating the Cougars 86-83. The Arizona freshmen met their match with BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa, who was a contender for the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft, but still is uncertain if he will enter the portal this season. Dybantsa recorded 24 points for the Cougars while Burries lead the Wildcats with 29. The Wildcats pulled through with a late rally to take the victory and remain undefeated in their season.

The Wildcats closed out January with another win against the school up north but this time in enemy territory. Following their game against ASU, Arizona took a victory against Oklahoma State University at home. This marked the Wildcats’ 23rd win, which was an Arizona program record, as well as achieving the best start in Big 12 history. Arizona and the University of Miami Ohio were the remaining undefeated teams at this point in the season.

Looking forward to their next game, they were taking on No. 9 University of Kansas on their home court. The Jayhawks handed Arizona their first loss of the season in a hard fight. Kansas was able to maintain their perfect home record on Big Monday, going 39-0 under head coach Bill Self. Going into this game, Arizona knew it would be a tough one as Kansas had home court advantage, but they also possess dominant freshman and veteran players. They were led by Flory Bidunga and Melvin Council Jr., who each collected 23 points.

After this loss on Monday, Arizona looked forward to their next home game against No. 16 Texas Tech University on Valentine’s Day. Not only was it a special day because it was Valentine’s Day, but it was also ESPN’s College Gameday, where 14,688 fans sold out the McKale Center to watch this nationally televised spotlight on the Wildcats.

This was the fifth time that Arizona has been the host, with the last time being in 2022. It was also the first time that a game was played in the new McKale Center at ALKEME Arena after the announcement of a 15-year naming rights partnership between Arizona Athletics and ALKEME Insurance. During this game, Arizona also honored former Wildcat guard Caleb Love who was welcomed into the Ring of Honor with a ceremony at halftime.

The Texas Tech game was a nailbiter, with the lead changing 11 times and having 11 ties. The game eventually went into overtime after Ivan Kharchenkov shot late free throws, but unfortunately the Red Raiders were too strong and took the win 78-75. JT Toppin collected 31 points and 13 rebounds while Christian Anderson recorded 19 points and six 3-pointers for Texas Tech. Arizona fought until the end and put up a good fight with both Burries and Tobe Awaka scoring in double figures.

Because of these two back-to-back losses, Arizona took a fall in the AP rankings from No. 1 for nine consecutive weeks to No. 4 as they prepared to take on No. 23 BYU for the second time this season.

Arizona managed to get back in the winning column to close out the rest of their season taking on some familiar faces like BYU and No. 14 Kansas for the second time this season, as well as new ones. They took victories against No. 2 University of Houston, Baylor University, No. 6 Iowa State University and University of Colorado, Boulder to round out the season. They managed to get redemption against Kansas and avenge their first loss of the season with a 20+ point victory margin 84-61 at home.

They secured the Big 12 regular-season title and earned the No. 1 seed heading into the Big 12 Tournament.

Big 12 Champions

After the Wildcats closed out their conference season against Boulder with another victory, they looked towards the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City. Arizona was the No. 1 seed and automatically advanced to the quarterfinals, where they took on No. 8 seed UCF. It was a clean sweep victory 81-59 to advance to the semifinals.

In the semifinals, they faced No. 5 seed Iowa State for the second time this season. Bradley cemented his name as the Big 12 Player of the Year after shooting a 3-pointer buzzer-beater to win the game and send Arizona to the finals. The Wildcats won 82-80 in a crazy finale.

Arizona faced No. 2 seed Houston in the finals of the Big 12 Tournament before stamping their ticket to the NCAA Tournament after a close win 79-74. This was the first time that Arizona has won the Big 12 Championship title since joining the conference back in 2024.

March Madness

Because of their pure dominance throughout the season and the Big 12 Tournament, Arizona was the No. 1 seed in the western region for the NCAA Tournament. All of Tucson buzzed with excitement over the start of the tournament, and most people made their brackets with Arizona taking the victory at the end of it all.

They headed down to San Diego for the first round of the tournament, where they played against No. 16 seed Long Island University. They took their first victory of the tournament with over a 30-point margin.

Later that weekend, Arizona advanced to play No. 9 seed Utah State University to finish out their weekend in San Diego. This was another victory to add to Arizona’s roster with the Wildcats’ winning 78-66.

Arizona returned home to Tucson, where they were greeted by loving fans showing their support upon their arrival to McKale Center at ALKEME Arena. They had a quick turnaround, though, as they were headed up to San Jose for the second round of the tournament. That Thursday, they took on No. 4 seed University of Arkansas in the Sweet 16.

In this matchup, Arizona showed strong offense with both Burries and Peat scoring 21 points, Kharchenkov scoring 15 and Bradley, Awaka and Motiejus Krivas tallying 14 points each. The Wildcats advanced to the Elite Eight after a 109-88 victory over Arkansas. This was their first appearance in the Elite Eight since 2015.

The Elite Eight matchup was against No. 2 seed Purdue University. Arizona got off to a slow start, letting Purdue take the lead for the majority of the first half and going into halftime. The Wildcats made a strong comeback in the second half to come out with the 79-64 victory taking them to the Final Four for the first time since 2001.

Arizona was heading to Indianapolis for the Final Four where they were set to play the No. 1 midwestern seed University of Michigan. Arizona fans migrated to the midwest to support their Wildcats as they ended the 25 year drought since they had played in the Final Four. Unfortunately, this game did not go as the Wildcats had hoped. They were unable to find their rhythm against Michigan’s tough defensive strategy with their strong offense and high shooting percentage.

Arizona fell to Michigan 91-73 in the Final Four round of the NCAA Tournament. Though they did not win it all after a very tough game, this does not diminish everything this team has done this season and everything they have done for the Arizona basketball program. This team will stand as one of the greats and did the Arizona and Tucson community proud on the national stage.

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