Kliff Kingsbury is back. The Arizona Cardinals head coach missed the matchup in Week 6 against the Cleveland Browns after testing positive for COVID-19, but his team was able to regroup and land a decisive win in his absence. They'll have him back on the sideline for the Week 7 fight with the Houston Texans though, after Kingsbury cleared league COVID-19 protocol on Sunday -- logging his second negative test in a 24-hour period -- the Cardinals announced, increasing their chances to potentially remain undefeated through their first seven games of the 2021 season.
Kingsbury was assisting virtually in helping the Cardinals coaching staff formulate a gameplan for last week and this week as well, with Arizona being uncertain about his status against the Texans. Head coaching duties against the Browns were split between assistant head coach/special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, who joined in to lead the Cardinals to a 37-14 beatdown over the Browns.
Kingsbury returns to scheme against a Texans team that's just 1-5 on the season and losers of five straight -- desperately seeking their first win since defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1. It's a scrappy bunch that the Cardinals aren't overlooking, and Arizona now has its head coach back in the mix where he belongs, making what was already an uphill battle for Houston that much more daunting.
The Cardinals were already massive -18.5-point favorites to take the victory before the news on Kingsbury dropped, per Caesars Sportsbook, so you can probably anticipate that line moving just a bit more in Arizona's favor ahead of kickoff.
Latest Odds: Arizona Cardinals -18.5
