Former players say 6-4 Cardinals are legit threat in ‘very strange’ NFC West

Arizona pummeled the Jets last week, 31-6, carrying a four-game winning streak into its bye. Sitting atop the mercurial NFC West, the Cardinals (6-4) have won five of their last six after a 1-3 start. However, only two of their six wins have come against opponents currently with winning records, San Francisco (5-4) and the L.A. Chargers (6-3). So, are the Cardinals legit or counterfeit?

On Tuesday’s edition of FS1’s The Facility, four former players tossed around that question. LeSean McCoy had the only dissenting opinion.

“They’re No. 1 in their division, right?” McCoy asked, holding up a Monopoly bill. “But do you feel like they’re No. 1 in their division? No! Phony! You think they’re better than the Rams or better than the Niners?”

Emmanuel Acho disagreed, pointing to Kyler Murray’s high-level play. The Arizona quarterback had as many incompletions (two) as rushing touchdowns (two) in last week’s 31-6 win. Former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel also thinks Arizona is legit.

“The NFC West is a very strange division,” Daniel said. “You saw the Rams lose to the 2-7 Dolphins last night. The 49ers, I don’t know if they’re good yet; I think they are. The Cardinals, what they’re doing with Kyler Murray is protecting the football. He only has three interceptions this year. Legit.”

James Jones, who caught passes from both Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, was aligned. Jones said that when Arizona wins, Murray is the “best quarterback on the field,” including last week’s win over Rodgers and the Jets.

But the real reason why Arizona is legit is so much more than Murray. It’s Murray plus a newfound stable of running backs, led by James Conner. And while Marvin Harrison is always a threat, Trey McBride has emerged as one of the NFL’s top tight ends.

On defense, Budda Baker registered a career-best three tackles for loss in last week’s win, including a third-down sack. Baker enters the bye with 100 tackles, most in franchise history by a player over his first 10 games. The Cardinals’ defensive leader, Baker now has five 100-tackle seasons, most among active NFL defensive backs.

Arizona returns to action in Week 12 at Seattle.

For more information on the Cardinals, visit the Arizona team page at ProFootballPost.com.