The Carolina Panthers have been the story of the NFL this season, easily surpassing preseason expectations on the way to a 14-0 record. But after Carolina’s loss at Atlanta on Sunday, the Panthers are not going to become the first NFL team to finish a season 19-0. Even so, that does not mean there is not a historically dominant team this season: It just happens to be a different NFC team.
The Arizona Cardinals lead the league in scoring, with an impressive 32.2 points per game average.
The team ranks fourth in points allowed, at 18.5, and, if things break Arizona’s way in Week 17, it could wind up leading the league in that metric, too. More impressive, Arizona has outscored its opponents by 206 points, or 13.7 points a game. That is the third highest margin of any team in the past 10 years, behind only the Patriots teams in 2007 and 2012.
From 1970 to 2014, only 17 teams have outscored their opponents by such a margin; eight of them wound up winning the Super Bowl.
There is no secret to Arizona’s success: The team is simply dominating in nearly every facet of the game. The Cardinals have outgained opponents by 1,508 yards this season; the only other team with an edge of even 900 yards this season is the Seahawks (1,267).
Arizona leads the NFL in ancillary statistics, too, like third-down percentage (47.3 percent) and time of possession (32 minutes, 38 seconds). It ranks second in takeaways with 33.
The pass attack is the best in the NFL, and by a comfortable margin. It is both explosive and efficient. One of every 8.4 pass plays (including sacks) has gone for at least 20 yards, which is second in the NFL behind Cincinnati (8.0 before Monday’s game). In addition, 41 percent of all Cardinals pass plays have been converted into first downs, far ahead of the rest of the NFL. (Carolina is second at 37 percent.)
Quarterback Carson Palmer is having a most valuable player-caliber season, as he leads all quarterbacks in both adjusted net yards per attempt and Total QBR, or total quarterback rating. Rookie running back David Johnson has been incredible in December, with 599 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns in four games; no other player has gained even 500 yards from scrimmage this month.
And the Cardinals may have the best threesome of wide receivers in the NFL. Larry Fitzgerald is perhaps the game’s top possession receiver, and he leads all wide receivers (minimum 100 targets) with a 74.6 percent catch rate. John Brown and Michael Floyd rank in the top 10 in yards per reception among players with at least 750 receiving yards.
Given the game’s best offense, and a defense that ranks in the top five in most key metrics (including points, yards, turnovers, first downs and passer rating), Arizona has fielded one of the better teams in recent memory. The Cardinals are one of only eight teams since 1970 to win six games by a margin of greater than three touchdowns, and five of those won the Super Bowl. Now that an undefeated Panthers team is not hogging the spotlight, it is time to recognize the brilliance that is the 2015 Arizona Cardinals.
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