The Arizona Cardinals lost on Sunday to the Detroit Lions 45-21, their fourth consecutive defeat. As such, how they are viewed is not improving.
In the latest NFL power rankings from NFL.com's Nick Shook, they have fallen almost to the bottom.
They are down to No. 31, the second-worst team in the league. They are ahead of only the Tennnessee Titans.
In the first few weeks of this season, the Cardinals ostensibly proved they could score enough to keep up with most teams, even if their defense couldn’t do its part. That seemed to position them well against a Lions team that dragged a porous defense through the opening month, but that just wasn't the case on Sunday in the desert. Arizona scored once, then went completely quiet, reducing its offense
to a chuck-and-pray approach on third-and-long and completely eliminating Jeremiyah Love from the game plan because of the score difference. With all due respect to Jacoby Brissett, you’re not going to win many games when he’s averaging 40 throws per outing.
We know the defense is bad. They have allowed over 30 points in four straight games, and the one game they didn't when they beat the LA Chargers looks far less impressive, as the Chargers have one of the worst scoring offenses in the league.
And while the Cardinals can score points, they are very inconsistent at it. After scoring on their first drive against the Lions, they went three-and-out five straight drives. In Week 4, after two touchdowns in two drives, nine of their next 11 drives lasted four or fewer plays with six punts and two turnovers.
A less-than-hopeful year now looks desperate, and now they face an angry and desperate Rams team that is 2-3 but still considered one of the league's best.
The 3-2 Rams rank 12th.
NFC West and Week 6 power rankings
The NFC West has two teams in the top three and three in the top 12.
The San Francisco 49ers rank first.
The Seattle Seahawks rank third.
The Rams are 12th.
The Cardinals are 31st.
Yes, it's another year of being bad.
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: NFL power rankings: Arizona Cardinals tumble nearly to bottom
