The numbers the Cardinals have piled up this season through four games have been incredible.
The main one: They have had at least 30 points and 400 yards in each of the first four games -- only the fifth team in NFL history to achieve such a feat. And the list of teams that did it before, they all had a common thread when it was over: Each team made the Super Bowl.
YEAR | TEAM | QUARTERBACK |
---|---|---|
2002 | Oakland Raiders | Rich Gannon |
2007 | New England Patriots | Tom Brady |
2011 | New England Patriots | Tom Brady |
2013 | Denver Broncos | Peyton Manning |
(Unfortunately, each of those teams lost in the Super Bowl when their high-flying offenses were neutralized, but that's a discussion for another day. Safe to say if you told the Cardinals they will reach the Super Bowl, they'll risk the outcome.)
The Cardinals are first in the NFL in points, first in 25-yard-or-more plays, first in fourth-down conversion percentage, first in net yards per pass, second in yards per game, third in yards per play and sixth in rushing yards per game. The Cards' yardage total is tops in franchise history through four games and is second in TDs and points through four games only to the 2015 juggernaut that eventually reached the NFC Championship game.
There are still 12 games left in the season. Still much time to pile up big numbers -- or have things go sideways.
It's why the Cards are trying to push the week-to-week narrative. The Cards are the last undefeated team in the NFL. It's the fourth year in a row the NFC West has provided the league's last undefeated team, and amazingly, each of the four franchise's has taken a turn in that role. There is a reason the division is considered the best in the league.
But again, week-to-week. The Steelers were 11-0 at one point last season. It did not end the way they had hoped.
"I have been on teams that have started off hot and didn't make the playoffs, like we did last year," guard Justin Push said. "We had the No. 1 offense in the NFL and all of a sudden we don't finish the right way. We've learned from that, hopefully we've learned from that, but we have to go out and continue to prove it."