NFC WEST MIDSEASON RECAP

Standings after Week 11:

• Cardinals 6-4
• Rams 5-5
• Seahawks 5-5
• 49ers 5-5

ARIZONA CARDINALS

General Notes :: 

• Kyler Murray is playing perhaps the best football of his career and has the Cardinals in control of the NFC West.
• James Conner has stayed healthy all season and has at least 17 opportunities in eight of his 10 games played, including 20 per game over the last month.
• Trey McBride does not have a receiving touchdown yet this season despite ranking third in the league in receptions, yards, and targets at his position. That will likely regress and he is in position for a great second half of 2024.
• Marvin Harrison Jr. has played very well this season and his presence has opened up the Arizona offense, but he has not been targeted over seven times in a game since Week 3.
• Michael Wilson and Greg Dortch are the other Cardinals WRs who see the field often, but they have very limited and low-value roles while everyone is healthy.
• Rookie RB Trey Benson has been given significant playing time in blowouts the last two weeks and looked very good in both instances. He would be an instant RB1 if Conner were to miss time and should be added if he is available.

Offensive Outlook :: 

The Cardinals’ offense has been very good this year and “solid” is kind of what comes to mind. They aren’t breaking off huge plays very often (so far), but are pretty consistent in being able to move the ball and stay competitive. Their two losses by significant margins were against the Commanders in a game they did not have McBride and against the Packers in a game in which Harrison was injured early. As long as everyone is healthy, this is a unit that is really starting to gel and hit its stride, as they have averaged 29 points per game over their last three outings.

Looking Ahead :: 

Arizona has an extremely friendly schedule ahead for both real-life and fantasy football purposes. They have a tough matchup against the Vikings in Week 13, but otherwise their other five remaining games are all against middling-to-poor defenses. As Harrison enters the second half of his rookie season where we have seen so many high-profile WRs take off, we could be in store for exactly that from him as well. McBride’s touchdown variance should correct itself soon as well, and Murray is probably a top-8 rest-of-season QB, if not higher.

Fantasy Playoffs ::

• Week 15 — vs Patriots
  • Run Defense DVOA — 28th
  • Pass Defense DVOA — 31st
• Week 16 — at Panthers
  • Run Defense DVOA — 32nd
  • Pass Defense DVOA — 30th
• Week 17 — at Rams (second matchup)
  • Run Defense DVOA — 20th
  • Pass Defense DVOA — 22nd

LOS ANGELES RAMS

General Notes ::