Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray walks the sidelines as they play a preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs at State Farm Stadium on Aug. 9, 2025. Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Projections Say Arizona Cardinals' Division Will Be Brutal

Originally posted on Arizona Cardinals on SI
By Alex D'Agostino | Last updated Aug 23, 2025 5:00 PM ET

The Arizona Cardinals play in one of the toughest divisions in football. That fact rears its ugyl head year in and year out.

That doesn't mean they aren't well-equipped to compete in 2025, with significantly weaker 49ers and Rams squads.

But according to The Athletic's Austin Mock and his projection model, the 49ers and Rams are somehow still the favorites despite uncertainty about both rosters.

Arizona Cardinals Projected To Finish Third or Worse

"While the NFC North is the best division in football, according to my model, the West should be the most exciting. Only two wins separate the top from the bottom this year, and Rams QB Matthew Stafford's lingering back injury brings even more uncertainty," Mock writes.

"Right now, my numbers have the 49ers as the favorite — they're dealing with their own injury issues right now — and that's mostly driven by their schedule being much easier than the Rams'. I actually would favor the Rams over the 49ers on a neutral field, but the difference in schedules gives San Francisco the advantage.

"Most divisions have a team or two you don't really need to pay attention to, but that's not the case in the West. The Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks have great chances to deliver winning records this season.

"Both teams have at least a 14 percent chance to win the division and a 37 percent chance to make the playoffs. If the injury bug becomes too much for the 49ers and/or Rams to overcome — and that's happened before — these two will be right there to take advantage."

Mock isn't wrong in saying there's a decent chance all four teams in the division squeak out a winning record — or close to it. The Cardinals will have to play well in their interdivisional games to get a chance at the postseason in 2025.

But it seems a little hasty to put San Francisco and Los Angeles above Arizona and Seattle. The Seahawks are incapable of winning less than 10 games, while the Rams may not have a QB and the 49ers' roster has been completely decimated.

What this ultimately says is Arizona has a chance this season, but it will be up to them to deliver on that opportunity.

Nothing will be handed to them in a tough NFC West division. The time is now to take hold of it, but they'll have to execute.