The Arizona Cardinals’ Week 10 matchup with the New York Jets will go a long way to establishing the NFC West squad as a true contender in the conference. Ahead of this big Cardinals-Jets game, let’s make some bold Cardinals Week 10 predictions.
Ahead of the 2024 season, most pundits had the Cardinals either last in the NFC West or a distant third behind the defending Super Bowl representative San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks. However, though nine weeks, the Cards are 5-4 and a half-game up on the Los Angeles Rams and 49ers and a full game ahead of the Seahawks. The division is still incredibly competitive, but Arizona is in the driver’s seat.
This Sunday, the Cardinals get the Jets, a team many of those same pundits picked to challenge the Buffalo Bills for the AFC East crown. While Gang Green is in second place, they are a distant second, four games behind Josh Allen and company and barely hanging on in the AFC Wild Card race. Aaron Rodgers’ crew did pull off a big win last week on Thursday night, besting the Houston Texans, though, so this is a massive game for them, too.
If the Cardinals can move to 6-4, it is time to start talking about them as one of the best teams in the NFC. So, to discuss if they can do it, let’s go ahead with our bold Cardinals Week 10 predictions.
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James Conner steamrolls the Jets defense
Arizona Cardinals running back James Conner (6) against the Chicago Bears in the second half at State Farm Stadium. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
As usual, the Jets have a solid defense this season, and that unit is the biggest reason the team still has an outside shot at the playoffs. Overall, the Jets D is 11th in points allowed and 10th in yards given up. However, the run defense is a different story.
The Jets have struggled to stop the run this year, giving up 1,193 yards, the 11th-most in the league in 2024. That doesn’t jive well with stopping the Cardinals’ physical rushing attack, which is fifth in the NFL this season with 1,347 yards on the ground.
James Conner is the leader of the pack in the desert, rushing for a hard-fought 664 yards on 147 carries (4.5 yards per attempt) with four rushing touchdowns.
Rookie Trey Benson (39 carries, 154 yards, one TD) and Emari Demercado (17 carries, 175 yards, one TD) have also chipped in, as, of course, has slippery quarterback Kyler Murray with 350 yards and two TDs on 43 carries.
New York has gone through a “tackling presentation” this week, per the New York Post, in order to stop the bruising 6-foot-1, 233-pound Conner. That still won’t stop the battering ram back as the first of the bold Cardinals Week 10 predictions is that Conner gets 100 yards on the ground for the fifth time this season on Sunday.
The Arizona defensive line gets to Aaron Rodgers
The Cardinals defense is nothing to write home about this season, as it ranks in the bottom third of the league in most defensive categories. However, they are T-14 in sacks in 21 on the season. On the other side, Rodgers is 13th in the league in taking sacks, going down 20 times.
This should be a relatively high-scoring game with both teams moving the ball up and down the field. What it will come down to is which defense can step up in the big moment and make a singular play in a big spot or two to change the dynamics.
That’s why the next bold Cardinals prediction for Week 10 against the Jets is that the defense does just enough in big enough spots to help Murray and Conner win the game. The defense will get three sacks in this contest and two in the fourth quarter to help salt away a victory.
Speaking of victories, that’s exactly what the Cardinals will get in Week 10 against the Jets in Arizona. This is a game between two teams going in opposite directions. The Cards are a young team on the rise, while the Jets are an old team trying to make one last run.
In this situation, the youngsters will prevail, as they have shown they can now do in tough spots along the way. It won’t be a massive victory by any means, but as the Baby Cardinals learn how to win big games, this will be one where all their losses over the last few years finally pay off in a W.
It will also be the announcement that Arizona is here to stay in 2024, and all the other teams in the NFC West — and the NFC as a whole — should watch out.
This article first appeared on NFL on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.
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