The Arizona Cardinals, sitting at 10-2, have the best record in the NFL and are the No. 1 seed in the NFC. They previously have been the No. 1 team in Nate Davis’ power rankings for USA TODAY. However, they fell two spots when they were on their bye week.
They returned in Week 13 to pick up their seventh road win of the season, a 33-22 victory over the Chicago Bears.
The Green Bay Packers, who were the new No. 1 team last week, was on their bye in Week 13. So the Cardinals, with another impressive win, naturally moved back up to the top spot.
No, they did not.
In Davis’s new USA TODAY power rankings, they remained the No. 3 team.
Arizona was a combined 5-11 in the second half of its first two seasons under coach Kliff Kingsbury. The Cards are 2-1 since Week 9 this year.
The Cardinals continue to be the most consistent team on both sides of the ball. They do, though, have a tougher schedule than the Packers. The Cardinals face the Rams, Colts and Cowboys — all likely playoff teams — in their final five games.
That said, with Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins having returned from injury, it seems odd that the best team in the NFL would be ranked behind two other teams.
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