For one week, we all thought the Arizona Cardinals were going to prove a lot of people wrong.
Then week two of the 2026 NFL season happened and a humbling loss to the defending Super Bowl champions that saw the Arizona Cardinals offense produce 127 yards with the starters in 58.5 minutes of game time made us wonder… maybe they are better, but only slightly?
Well, the reality might be that they are better but not anywhere close to being ready for the big time, at least the big time in the NFC West.
We will hopefully know more at the end of this week, but we pulled power rankings from five different sites to see what they are saying after two weeks of Arizona Cardinals football.
The first two weeks have already been a roller coaster for Brissett, who threw for 277 yards in Week 1 but only 95 on Sunday against the defending Super Bowl champions. His body of work since he became Arizona’s starter in Week 6 last season is solid. He ranks No. 1 in completions and attempts, No. 2 in passing yards, No. 4 in completion percentage over expected and No. 5 in passing touchdowns. His performance Sunday was vastly different than the last time he played Seattle, when he threw for 258 yards and two touchdowns in a blowout loss in Week 10 last season.
Any belief that Arizona could be a surprise playoff contender likely dissipated after Sunday’s crushing loss against the rival Seattle Seahawks. Arizona’s defense managed to keep the game close early, but it fell apart in the second half, while the Cardinals’ offense struggled throughout the contest.
Reality hit them in the mouth in the loss to the Seahawks after the upset of the Chargers. Their offense has to be better throwing the football.
They may find out the hard way that the Chargers are just really bad.
The first-round running back is only playing about 40 percent of the offensive snaps. That could be due to his preseason ankle injury, but it won’t take Cardinals fans long to get restless if that number doesn’t increase. Love has 20 carries for 70 yards and five catches for 25 yards through two weeks.
The rankings are all pretty consistent. Not among the three worst teams, but in that next pack of five teams. Let’s hope a strong showing against the Niners changes some thoughts.
