Arizona Cardinals tight end Elijah Higgins (84) celebrates his catch against the Carolina Panthers at State Farm Stadium on Sept 14, 2025. Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Should We Buy Arizona Cardinals as Playoff Contender

Originally posted on Arizona Cardinals on SI
By Donnie Druin | Last updated Sep 17, 2025 12:00 PM ET

The Arizona Cardinals are one of ten NFL teams to be undefeated entering Week 3 of the regular season.

This is the first time under head coach Jonathan Gannon the organization has accomplished the feat, with their last instance coming in 2021.

Arizona, however, does carry doubts moving into the future despite their solid start.

Buy or Sell Cardinals as Postseason Contender

Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon is buying the Cardinals at their current price of -110 betting odds to make the playoffs.

"Buying: I'd prefer something more juicy than this, but I believe the Cards have more talent right now than anyone in this division and their trajectory is promising," he wrote.

Over 70% of teams who have started 2-0 have made the postseason in the 17-game era, which bodes well for Gannon and co. moving into the thick of the schedule.

However, concerns on exactly how Arizona has reached their current record casts a cloud of doubt over their potential - nearly blowing leads to the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers in back to back weeks to start 2025.

The Cardinals must also figure out their secondary after losing their three starting cornerbacks due to injury in Week 2. Though we don't quite know the severity of said injuries just yet, Arizona will surely have to make swift adjustments in that department.

Offensively, Arizona has struggled to do what they do best in establishing the run - which has contributed to some of their struggles in closing out games.

Gannon believes Arizona has a good plan in place to put a better stamp on their work.

“Well, I thought for how many plays we had on offense, the amount of explosives we had—that’s a big-time thing. And it was not through the ground, it’s through the pass game, so that’s good. I think (QB) Kyler (Murray) is playing extremely well," he said.

"I think defense, we showed this last game, (it) was good to see us affect the ball. We win the takeaway battle there and it ended up being 2-1, but you typically win a lot of games when you do that, so that’s good to see. Like I said, our mode of play is on display, and I think just our attitude to get better and knowing exactly what we need to do to get better. It’s cool to say, ‘Hey, let’s get better’, and not have a plan to do it. I think we got a good plan to do it.”

The Cardinals hit the road in Week 3 to battle the San Francisco 49ers before returning home on a short week to battle the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football.

How Arizona responds within the next two games, regarding both form and injuries to the secondary, could very well set the stage for the remainder of the season.