The Arizona Cardinals, sitting at 3-7-1 on their bye week, are not really in any sort of playoff scenario, especially since they are in last place of the NFC West. However, while they are not in the playoff hunt themselves, they potentially can play a role in both the NFC and AFC playoff picture.
Why?
Four of their five final games are against teams firmly in their playoff race.
They play the 6-4 Los Angeles Rams twice. They play the 5-5 Pittsburgh Steelers. They will face the 8-2 Seattle Seahawks. Their other opponent, the Cleveland Browns, who are 4-6, are in the mix in the AFC but are longshots at this point.
The Rams are trying to stay in the playoff race, as are the Steelers. The Seahawks are trying to win the division. Any Cardinals win will hurt those team’s chances.
In fact, they are considered a top spoiler by Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar.
Even if the Cardinals won all five of their remaining games, they would finish 8-7-1 and still wouldn’t make the postseason. But they could keep an opponent out or from winning the division.
Combine that with building momentum for 2020 and that is something to cheer for.
Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.
[protected-iframe id=”dc9401a9946bd6d695c8bc6452e2c715-112738498-106269283″ info=”https://api.spreaker.com/v2/episodes/20138538/download.mp3″ ]