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Arizona Cardinals offense has been very good under Kliff Kingsbury

NFL: MAR 01 Scouting Combline Photo by Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

There are a lot of critics out right now about the extension for Kliff Kingsbury.

Meanwhile, in reality what Kliff has done over three years has earned him a chance to continue to build.

People feel like five years is too long, but the reality is that for a coach with only one year (2022) left on his contract it was going to need to be a good showing in an extension for people to feel like this organization is committed to his vision.

Also, maybe we forgot but teams can fire coaches whenever they want. Cards fans should know this, the franchise does it every couple of years usually.

What Kingsbury has done to the Arizona Cardinals offense has been nothing short of great, from the team:

Guided Arizona to a playoff berth, 11 wins and a top-10 offense in 2021. The Cardinals ranked in the top-10 in total offense, passing offense and rushing offense last season.

· Arizona had the NFL’s 8th ranked offense in 2021 after finishing with the 6th ranked offense in 2020. It marked just the second time (2015-16) since relocating to Arizona in 1988 that the Cardinals had a top-10 offense in back-to-back seasons.

· The Cardinals offense has ranked top-10 in total offense, offensive TDs, rushing yards/game and rushing TDs in each of the last two seasons.

· Arizona finished the 2021 regular season with 6,352 total net yards, the second-high total in franchise history. The Cardinals had 4,276 net passing yards and 2,076 rushing yards in 2021, marking just the second time in franchise history (1984) that Arizona had 4,000+ net passing yards and 2,000+ rushing yards in a season.

· Under Kingsbury (2019-21), the Cardinals have posted 400+ yards in a game 20 times, which ranks 5th in the NFL. During that same span, Arizona has posted 400+ yards and 30+ points in a game 14 times, tied for 4th in the NFL.

· Arizona ranked 10th in the NFL with 2,076 rushing yards and 3rd in the NFL with 23 rushing TDs in 2021. It marked the third consecutive season (2019-20) the Cardinals ranked in the top-10 in both categories. Dating back to 2019, the Cardinals are one of just five teams in the NFL (Baltimore, Tennessee, San Francisco, New England) with 6,000+ rushing yards and 60+ rushing TDs.

· Under Kingsbury’s guidance, QB Kyler Murray was named the 2019 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and has been named to the Pro Bowl each of the last two years (2020-21).

· The Cardinals have committed just 54 turnovers in three seasons under Kingsbury. In that span, only Green Bay (37), New Orleans (43) and Seattle (51) have fewer. Arizona’s 15 turnovers and four fumbles lost in 2021 were both the fewest in a season in franchise history.

Kingsbury has done enough to earn a chance to try and fix his late season woes. If he gets the entire contract is yet to be seen, but this extension gives Kingsbury the chance to be the most successful coach in Cardinals history.

Now, it is on him to prove he can do it.