It’s going to be a short week for the Arizona Cardinals, as they have to head to the Edward Jones Dome for Thursday Night Football against the St. Louis Rams. They’ll bring that vicious defense to town for a clash with their NFC West rivals, but if Sunday’s 24-21 win over the Miami Dolphins was any indication, this is a team that just has mojo going for it.

Arizona allowed QB Ryan Tannehill to throw for 431 yards on Sunday, yet two picks, the second one of which came in overtime, setup the game-winning field goal. The Cardinals have been playing with fire all year long, but they continue to prove that they can be clutch. The difference between winning and losing is slim.

The Cards should have been beaten in their only road game this year against the New England Patriots if not for a missed field goal at the gun. They too, should have been beaten by the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1 had WR Braylon Edwards had a set of hands attached to his body instead of alligator arms.

We also have to remember in this one, that the Rams are a 2-2 team that could be 3-1 right now if not for a late drive mounted by the Detroit Lions in Week 1. This isn’t a given of a game by any stretch of the imagination, though it had to be penciled in as a victory a few weeks ago by the Cardinals.

The oddsmakers know that this is a dangerous road trip on a short week for Arizona, too. It is just a 2 ½-point favorite on the NFL odds against the Rams. The good news for the Cardinals though, is that they are 12-5 SU and ATS over the course of the last 17 in this series, including sweeping it last year.

Of the three remaining undefeated teams in the NFL, the Arizona Cardinals have to be considered the most unlikely. But all one has to do is take a look at the teams the Cardinals have beat this season—Seattle Seahawks, Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots—to understand Arizona is a legitimate contender.

Next up for the Cardinals is a home game against the 1-2 Dolphins where they are a 5.5-point favorites. The over/under in this likely defensive struggle is 39 points.

To that point, spurring the new dawn in Arizona has been an aggressive, athletic defense that has held sway over each of its opponents this season. Arizona’s defense was visually impressive in its win against the Eagles last week and the seasonal numbers back up the view. The Cardinals are No. 2 in the NFL picks in points allowed at 13.3 a game and its 12 sacks also rank second-best in the NFL.

Offensively, things haven’t been quite as good. Quarterback Kevin Kolb certainly provided a spark when beating his former team last week, going 17 of 24 for 222 yards with two touchdowns. With that said, the Cardinals come in ranked 31st in total offense and 29th in rushing yards in the NFL. There will need to be at least some improvement on that side, but that is always possible as long as All-Pro Larry Fitzgerald is lined up on the outside.

Arizona should also benefit this week with the addition of some key players that are returning from injury. Adrian Wilson, the Cardinals’ Pro Bowl safety, is expected to be in action as is Todd Heap, the former Pro Bowl tight end.

Despite all the good news, the Cardinals could be in serious danger of a letdown against the Dolphins following their sky-high start. Miami is 1-2 with a rookie quarterback. Arizona is not only 3-0 straight-up, but against the spread as well. It almost sounds too good for the NFL. The advice is to tread lightly if laying the 5.5 points.

Photo by: ZUMA Press/Icon SMI

On Sunday, Larry Fitzgerald became the youngest player in NFL history to reach the 700 receptions threshold.  Fitz hauled in nine passes for 114 yards and a touchdown in the Cardinals 27-6 victory over the Eagles.  Fitzgerald entered the game only two receptions away from the 700 mark and after struggling the first few games of the season, broke out in a big way.  Fitz had his way with Nnamdi Asomugha as the offensive focal point, catching all seven of his first half passes before the Cardinals took to the running game in the second half.

Kevin Kolb has begun to show much better pocket presence and is looking more comfortable with the ball.  With Kolb gaining confidence each week and now showing a willingness to target Fitzgerald more often, we can expect more big games from Fitz in the near future.  If Kolb can remain steady and feed his number one option and the defense can continue their great play then the Cards are going to be a tough team to beat for the rest of the season.

It probably isn’t all that much of a surprise to NFL fans that the Houston Texans are 3-0, and it would be believable to think that the Atlanta Falcons are 3-0 as well. However, had you asked those same NFL fans three weeks ago who the third and final team would be in the league to still have a spotless record, few would have even remotely thought of the Arizona Cardinals.

Yes, the Cardinals have beaten the NFL picks in all three of their games this year, and they could be on their way to great things because of their outstanding defense. That defense on Sunday changed the game against the Philadelphia Eagles when, on the final play of the first half of a game that was 17-0 at the time, sacked QB Michael Vick, forced a fumble, recovered that fumble, and brought it back to the house for a touchdown. Instead of taking a 17-3 or 17-7 lead into the locker room, the Cards were up 24-0 and never looked back.

Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt has his boys playing some massive defense right now. Arizona ranks first in the league in scoring at just 13.3 PPG, and that comes having faced a schedule that includes a Seattle Seahawks team that everyone is high on, the mighty New England Patriots, and the Eagles. Offenses are averaging just 316.3 YPG against Arizona as well.

But what makes this 3-0 mark all the more impressive is the fact that the offense is averaging just 263.3 YPG, ranking second to last in the league. The offense has a total of six touchdowns in three games, and that’s normally a recipe for disaster.

This week, Arizona gets to stay at home to take on the Miami Dolphins in what should be a game in which it should easily improve to 4-0. The Cardinals are 6 ½-point favorites on the opening NFL lines for the week.