TEMPE, Ariz. — After committing four turnovers in a 12-point loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the Arizona Cardinals left Candlestick Park last Sunday believing their toughest rivals in the NFC West Division are themselves.

Maybe so, but that movement would gain credence if the Cardinals actually beat someone else in the division.

The Cardinals (3-3) haven’t done that since defeating the Seattle Seahawks in the first game of the 2012 season.

“Has it been that long?” defensive end Calais Campbell said. “Wow.”

The NFC West is regarded as the best division in the NFL mostly because of two teams: Seattle and San Francisco. Entering the season, the gap between them and the Cardinals and St. Louis Rams seemed wide.

Through six weeks, it hasn’t narrowed.

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In the offseason, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said he didn’t see the division that way and professed his belief that the Cardinals could contend.

They have another chance Thursday night against the Seahawks (5-1) at University of Phoenix Stadium.

So far, the Cardinals haven’t looked like a contender, losing their two division games this season, to St. Louis and San Francisco on the road.

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This is the first home division game of the season and one the Cardinals cannot afford to lose.

In his short history in Arizona, Arians hasn’t been one to look for the positives in losses. But he thinks some of his players left San Francisco with more self-esteem than they brought into the game.

“I think they obviously know now,” Arians said, when asked if his players believed they could compete with the 49ers and Seahawks. “I don’t know if we all knew in that locker room Sunday. There’s no reason not to know it; it’s time to do it.”

A year ago, the Cardinals were not competitive in their five division losses. Toss out the 58-0 loss to the Seahawks last December (and the Cardinals would like to) and the average loss in the division still was about 16 points.

So maybe a 12-point loss to the 49ers last Sunday was a sign of progress.

“I feel like this team is really special,” Campbell said. “We just have to start believing it a little bit more. I think (San Francisco) it did give us confidence. The guys who weren’t sure, who weren’t really believing all the way, were kind of getting on board a little bit more.”

Last season bottomed out in Seattle. It was the worst loss in Cardinals franchise history, and 58 points were the most ever scored by a Cardinals opponent.

It contributed to massive changes in the organization, including the firings of Ken Whisenhunt as coach and Rod Graves as general manager.

General Manager Steve Keim mentioned the loss in his introductory news conference last January.

“I think there are two things in my Cardinal career that give me that passion,” he said then. “One is the day I stood on the field in 2008 and we won the NFC championship, and all that confetti was sticking to my sweaty head. That thought drives me.

“The other thought that drives me is when I was sitting at our game in Seattle this year and lost 58-0 and making a pact with myself that that will never happen again.”

If the 58-0 loss continues to haunt, or drive, the Cardinals, they did a good job of concealing it this week.

“That was long, long ago,” Arians said. “Don’t really care about it. We’re 3-3. They’re 5-1 and that’s all it’s about.”

Receiver Larry Fitzgerald echoed that. “That’s a different team, different year. That’s ancient history.”

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll didn’t care to reflect upon it, either.

“They are a totally different club,” he said of the Cardinals. “The leadership is obvious. Bruce has a way of dialing into players. Players really play for him. There are so many elements that are different now that it seems like a totally different team.”

Judging by the roster, the Cardinals are certainly different. Of the 53 players, 27 weren’t with the club a year ago.

On the field, however, the Cardinals haven’t proved they are different from the past three years, when they finished out of the playoffs.

On Thursday night, the Cardinals have the opportunity to prove they have changed for the better.

***

Somers also writes for The Arizona Republic, a Gannett property

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