Week 7 was the best thing to happen to the Arizona Cardinals in a long time.
Not only did the Cardinals get to marinate in the juices of a big primetime Thursday night win, they got to watch the rest of the NFL play on Sunday.
Did you watch Week 7?
The Cardinals should suddenly feel a lot better about their season.
And sure, we should add the asterisk that the Bills, Eagles, Vikings and Rams were all on a bye but the NFL was a mess on Sunday.
Several head coaches made Kliff Kingsbury look like Vince Lombardi.
A bunch of quarterbacks made Kyler Murray look the best he's looked all year.
And the NFC West is basically the football version of the pie eating scene from the movie Stand By Me.
A lot of times as a parent we are harder on our own kids than anyone else. We expect more. Watch more. Care more and feel more.
And then you go to a kids birthday party and you are around a bunch of kids who all act like they are going to be the subject of a true crime podcast series in 20 years for one reason or another and suddenly you realize all is pretty well with your kiddos.
The Cardinals have their problems. Their leadership is bad. Their play calling is stagnant. Their quarterback has not taken any steps forward this season. Their defensive depth is thin. Their pass rush is feeble.
And yet, they may still be one of the better bets in the NFC Wildcard race.
The Cardinals aren't going to be able to rely on other teams for their own success. At some point this season, Kyler Murray and company are going to have to grab the bull by the horns and make things happen. Can they do it? Will they do it? Their next four games is going to tell us: @ Minnesota, vs. Seattle, @ Los Angeles Rams, vs. San Francisco on Monday Night Football.
Right now my optimism is trending upward for the Cardinals to finish that stretch with more wins than losses. Maybe the Cardinals will get a midseason vacation from the reality of their season. Maybe Kliff and Kyler will put to bed any talk about firings, contract regrets and steps backwards.
Or maybe the Cardinals will follow the rest of the NFL's lead and continue to confound us all.
It's going to up to them. Right now might be their best chance to reclaim their season. They need to do it now before other teams wake up and before Kliff realizes its December and the stakes are higher.
Its only Week 8 but it feels like its now or never for the Arizona Cardinals.