In NFL history, every team has had every win total in a season between 4 and 12, with three exceptions:
- The Panthers have never had 9 wins in a season
- The Panthers have never had 10 wins in a season (give them a break, they’ve only existed since 1995)
- The Cardinals have never had 12 wins in a season
The Arizona Cardinals, the oldest professional football team in the country and one of only two original NFL teams, have never had a 12-win season. They did win 13 in 2015, but other than that one aberration, the team has capped out at 11 wins in a season. In other words, this is by some measure the least elite team in NFL history. Does “Oh, the Cardinals weren’t great in the 1970s” really matter to their 2026 fortunes? Nah. But it’s a heck of an interesting tidbit for such an old team to almost never break through as one of the best. Oh, and it doesn’t really look like they’ll get there in 2026 either.
2026 Sleepers, Busts & Bold Predictions: Arizona Cardinals
Sleeper: Carson Beck, QB
Three years ago, I predicted Sam Howell would be a relevant fantasy quarterback because the only person he had to compete with in Washington was Jacoby Brissett, and while Jacoby Brissett is all well and good, he was never going to be a part of a future good Washington team, so it made sense for the Commanders to give Howell every chance he could get to sink or swim without worrying about Brissett any more than they had to. Howell finished as the fantasy QB12. It’s not the exact same with Beck in Arizona — Howell was in his second NFL season and had played one game as a rookie and looked fantasy-competent, and he had more rushing upside than we’ve seen from Beck. On the other hand, Howell was a fifth-round pick and Beck went in the third round. The Cardinals aren’t ready to compete yet. That would be true in any division, but it’s especially true when they’re sharing space with the Rams, Seahawks and 49ers. Brissett is 33, and while he had a very good year last year, it was very clearly out of line with his career trend. He’s (understandably) pushing to get paid like a starter, but the Cardinals are (understandably) reluctant to do that. Is there a path to them just seeing what Beck can offer? I’m not calling it likely, but it’s definitely on the table, and with the weapons he’d have in Arizona, he’d be an interesting free pickup.
Bust: Jeremiyah Love, RB
The problem in this year’s NFL Draft is that there were a fair number of exciting prospects, and almost to a man they landed in spots that weren’t very appealing. Carnell Tate doesn’t get a good offense in Tennessee, Jordyn Tyson has to compete with Chris Olave, Makai Lemon is the No. 4-ish weapon in a run-first offense, KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston are Browns, etc. The non-first-round running backs mostly came in behind guys who are pretty known quantities (are Kaelon Black, Mike Wahsington Jr. or Adam Randall going to get time over Christian McCaffrey, Ashton Jeanty or Derrick Henry?). Jadarian Price’s landing spot in Seattle was pretty appealing, but that’s about it. And then there’s Love. He’s an elite talent, but he’s in a backfield that already has (for now at least) James Conner, Trey Benson and offseason signee Tyler Allgeier. It’s a lower-third offensive line and a bad defense. No matter who the quarterback is in Arizona, he’s not going to be much of a rushing threat to distract defenses. So we have Love likely not getting bell cow work (he’ll be the RB1, but the others aren’t going to disappear) and very possibly not the goal-line touches over Allgeier. It’s a team that is going to be in pass scripts very often. And you’re taking him as a borderline RB1? I smell disappointment coming.
Bold Prediction: The Cardinals Pick Top 2 in 2027
There are, for my money, three candidates to pick first overall next year: Arizona, Cleveland and Miami. I don’t think that’s a very out-there take, but it’s true nonetheless. Well, by most measures, the Dolphins and Cardinals have two of the three or four hardest schedules in the league in 2026, while the Browns have maybe the easiest. And that’s just the full season. Early success or failure can often dictate how hard a team pushes late in the season. Well, Arizona’s schedule is painfully frontloaded, with games against the Chargers, Seahawks and 49ers early in the season, and the possibility of playing playoff teams in 10 of the first 11 weeks of the season. A Jets-Saints-Raiders stretch in Weeks 15-17 — even with a Week 14 bye — might be way too little, too late for the team to salvage anything from 2026. Add in the team’s question marks at quarterback and the lack of a need to win right now, and the Cardinals are perfectly situated to pick first or second in 2027.
