The Arizona Cardinals (3–10), who are already eliminated from playoff contention, are still seen as a team with energy left in the tank. One big-time newspaper predicts them to play a tough, competitive game against the playoff hopeful Houston Texans (8–5).

The Athletic released its Week 15 spread picks on Thursday, and when looking at the trajectory of the Cardinals’ defense, it may be a surprise to many that they were picked to cover the +9.5 point spread.

Authored by San Francisco 49ers’ beat writer, Vic Tafur, he pointed out a common trend that fans should not forget about. Aside from the blowout loss to the Los Angeles Rams the week prior, the Cardinals have dropped seven of their 10 games by four points or less.

Tafur also mentioned that if the Cardinals get their star rookie, Walter Nolen III, back, the defense would be much more sound up front. Nolen, who was selected at No. 16 overall in this year’s draft, missed the past two games with a knee injury. When he is healthy, he paves the way for other pass rushers to break free into the backfield, defending the run and pass exceptionally well.

Looking at Arizona’s offense, they’ll be without Marvin Harrison Jr. for the second consecutive game. There was a chance that Houston’s solid second-year corner, Kamari Lassiter, would be inactive with the ankle injury he suffered last weekend. But with the 22-year-old returning to practice on Friday, all signs point to him playing on Sunday.

Lassiter, along with Derek Stingley Jr., will be matched up with Michael Wilson and Andre Baccellia.

If the Cardinals want to win, or at the very least cover, quarterback Jacoby Brissett will need to lean heavily on Trey McBride as his top target. But as Tafur mentioned, offense will be hard to come by against a stout Houston pass rush with Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter leading the way. In fact, the unit as a whole is quite strong either way.

While we don’t expect the Cardinals to pull off an upset, we expect the game to be way closer than what the spread indicates. Arizona may be getting back a much-needed guy in Walter Nolen, but he will most likely be a game-time decision. Nonetheless, it’s nice to see the defensive unit getting a little bit of credit, despite the outcome of the season.

Kickoff at 11 p.m. Mountain Time.