Bruce Arians is doing it again. A year ago, he helped turn the Indianapolis Colts from the worst team in the N.F.L. to a playoff team. Hired as the team’s offensive coordinator, he was named the Associated Press coach of the year after Chuck Pagano, who was found to have leukemia, took a leave of absence. The Arizona Cardinals hired Arians as their head coach after firing Ken Whisenhunt, and Arians is again a viable candidate for the award.

Arians was hired to fix an offense that was among the worst in the league, and while they started slowly — 1-2, then 3-4 — the Cardinals (7-4) have been red hot over the last four games. Carson Palmer has completed 69 percent of his passes, averaged 8.9 yards per attempt and thrown 8 touchdown passes and only 2 interceptions. Over that time, the team is averaging 30.3 points a game and is 4-0. And while Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald remain the stars in the desert, two young players have provided the missing spark to the offense.