Arizona Cardinals fans, it's not so bad — you could be Dallas Cowboys fans, or worse

Usually, comparison is the thief of joy.

But if you’re a Cardinals fan, comparison is all you’ve got, for now.

Arizona is so up and down, the franchise ought to be sponsored by Duncan Toys, maker of “The Original, World’s No. 1 Yo-Yos.” Blowout win over the Rams. Blowout loss to the Lions. Gritty win over the 49ers. White flag loss to the Packers.

It’s enough to make you want to sell your tickets and change the channel.

Except it could be worse. Seriously.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at an NFL Misery Index to put things in perspective.

Let’s start with the NFC West.

KEEPING SF at BAY: The 49ers, at 3-3, are the worst division leader in the NFL. Plus, they lost to the Cardinals after trying to raid Arizona for all its football talent. Brock Purdy is from suburban Phoenix. Brandon Aiyuk became a star at Arizona State. And Ricky Pearsall, who’s about to practice for the first time this season, is from suburban Phoenix AND he’s a Sun Devil, baby! And with all that, the Cardinals still went up to the Bay and picked up a win. So, we’ve got it better than those guys.

DODGING RAMS ISN’T TOUGH: The Rams are 1-4, with one of those losses coming to the Cardinals. It’s so bad that Aaron Donald took a look around before the season and said: “I’m still the best defensive lineman in the sport, but nah. I’ma stay home.” Quarterback Matt Stafford is about as old as his coach. Stafford is 36. Sean McVay is 38. But Stafford aged in dog years up in Detroit before the Lions figured out that contending for the No. 1 pick in the draft every year was a bad thing. Stafford has been talking about becoming a broadcaster, lately. And with Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp missing more time than a pair of broken clocks, can you blame him?

Let’s talk about the NFC North for a bit.

LAMBEAU LEAPING INTO LAST PLACE: Green Bay just Packed up the Cardinals at Lambeau Field. They beat Arizona so bad that it should have counted for two wins. And at 4-2, you’d think the Packers would be moving into first place. But they’re in last, looking up at the Vikings, Lions and Bears. The Cardinals, meanwhile, are one win away from being in first in the NFC West, thanks to their 2-0 division record. Just looking at the NFC West vs. the NFC North, Arizona could be seen as more likely to host a playoff game than Green Bay.

PUTTING THE ‘L’ IN LIONS: Detroit is 4-1 coming off the franchise’s first final four since the invention of the manual transmission. (OK, OK, it hasn’t been THAT long, but who outside of the Motor City remembers Erik Kramer?) And they just snatched the star off the Dallas helmets with a 47-9 win over the Cowboys. How’s that for messing with Texas? The problem is that they had to sacrifice their best player to do it. Aidan Hutchinson’s leg exploded in one of those injuries that makes Moises Alou and Kevin Ware wince. Lions fans have to be wondering who cursed them. And why?!

And then there are the one-win wonders in Tennessee, Jacksonville, Cleveland and Carolina. (The Rams also have just one win, but we talked about them already.)

NO QB CLUB: The Titans, Jaguars, Browns and Panthers are paying for quarterbacks, but none of them seem to have one who can actually play. Say what you want about Kyler Murray, but the guy is harder to catch than a greased football, and he’s more accurate than a designated driver playing darts at the bar. Fans in these cities would gladly trade every quarterback on their roster for just a few weeks of Kyler Murray.

Finally, let’s look at New York, New York — where playing the Jets and Giants is so nice that you’d like to meet each team twice.

GOTHAM PITY: The Jets … man. These guys are more of a mess than a teenager’s bedroom. Aaron Rodgers reminds fans of a certain age of Michael Jordan with the Wizards or Babe Ruth with the Braves. The Jets fired their coach, and when was switching leaders during a season ever a good thing?

And the Giants? Daniel Jones seems to do just enough to look competent before leaving a lasting impression that he’s not. The Big Blues have two wins, but they’ve scored more than 20 points just two times this season. If you toss out the 29-point explosion against Seattle (six of those points came on a blocked field-goal return … nine came on field goals), the Giants are averaging just over 13 points per game.

And before we wrap it up, how 'bout them Cowboys?

A STARRY FRIGHT: Dallas just got blown out at home on the 82nd birthday of owner Jerry Jones. The jokes write themselves, and on social media after the loss to Detroit, they did.

So, I get it Cardinals fans. I really, truly do.

But the NFL is a week-to-week league. A win over the Chargers on Monday night and another over the floundering Dolphins puts the Cardinals right in the thick of a playoff race.

Maybe it’ll happen. Maybe it won’t, but it could always be worse.

Usually, comparison is the thief of joy, but in this case, the NFL Misery Index should inspire a little hope.

Sometimes, hope is all you’ve got, but it's always the start of something great.

( This story was updated to change or add a gallery. )

Reach Moore at gmoore@azcentral.com or 602-444-2236. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @SayingMoore .

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals fans, it's not so bad — you could be Dallas Cowboys fans, or worse