Category: NFC playoff picture

Cardinals lose ground in NFC West with loss to Vikings

The Cardinals now trail the Seahawks by a full game after losing on Sunday and the Seahawks beating the Jets.

The Arizona Cardinals entered Week 13 tied with the Seattle Seahawks at 6-5 atop the NFC West, although Seattle held a head-to-head tiebreaker to be the leader.

After games in Week 13, the Cardinals lost ground.

They blew a 13-point second-half lead on Sunday, falling 23-22 to the Minnesota Vikings, falling to 6-6.

What made things worse was seeing the Seattle Seahawks rally back from 14-0 and 21-7 deficits to beat the New York Jets 26-21, improving them to 7-5.

The Cardinals are now a full game behind Seattle in the division and have a critical game home against them next week. Win and they eliminate the tiebreaker. Lose and they will be essentially three games behind because of the two-game lead and head-to-head tiebreaker.

The Cardinals can’t afford to lose three in a row after winning four straight.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

Cardinals factor in to Lions’ playoff-clinching scenarios in Week 13

The Detroit Lions can clinch a postseason berth in Week 13, but all of those scenarios require the Cardinals do not win against the Vikings.

The Detroit Lions could clinch a playoff berth in Week 13. At 10-1, they are the No. 1 seed in the NFC and have won nine games in a row. They face the Chicago Bears at home on Thanksgiving. With a win and a combination of other results in Week 13, they can lock in a spot in the postseason.

In every scenario, the Arizona Cardinals factor in.

The Cardinals are 6-5 and face the Minnesota Vikings on the road in Week 13. A Cardinals win would keep the Lions from clinching.

Here are the scenarios with which the Lions can clinch a postseason berth:

So, regardless of whether or not the Lions beat the Bears on Thursday, the Cardinals can spoil a playoff berth, for at least a week, by beating the Vikings.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

Cardinals kept themselves from perfect NFC West weekend

The Cardinals had the help they needed from the Eagles and Packers. They didn’t take care of their own business with the Seahawks.

The Arizona Cardinals could have had a perfect Week 12 in the NFC West. Depending on the outcomes of their game with the Seattle Seahawks and the games the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams had, they could have extended their lead in the division over all them.

A win over the Seahawks and a loss by the 49ers and Rams would have given Arizona a two-game lead over everyone, sitting at 7-4 with the rest of the division at 5-6.

The 49ers, playing without QB Brock Purdy, LT Trent Williams, DE Nick Bosa and CB Charvarius Ward, were blown out by the Green Bay Packers 38-10. The Rams gave up 255 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns to RB Saquon Barkley in a 37-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

However, Arizona couldn’t do their job. They lost to Seattle 16-6, failing to score a touchdown and mustering only 298 total yards.

Now the Seahawks and Cardinals are both 6-5 but Seattle holds a head-to-head tiebreaker over Arizona, putting them in first place.

Arizona and Seattle are both on the road in Week 13. The Cardinals face the 9-2 Minnesota Vikings, while the Seahawks take on the 3-8 New York Jets.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

This would be a perfect Week 12 for the Cardinals

The Cardinals could potentially extend their lead in the NFC over every team if they get a little bit of expected help in Week 12.

The Arizona Cardinals sit atop the NFC West at 6-4 in Week 12. If they beat the Seattle Seahawks on the road, they will remain in first place.

A win over the Seahawks would be huge because it would move them two games ahead of Seattle, improve their division record to 3-0 and would eliminate any potential head-to-head tiebreakers to anyone in the division for first place.

If the Cardinals get a little help from a couple of NFC teams, the Cardinals an increase their lead over everyone in the division by two games.

A win by Arizona would improve them to 7-4 and drop the Seahawks to 5-6.

The San Francisco 49ers, playing on the road against the Green Bay Packers, who are 7-3. The Packers are favored and the Niners will be without quarterback Brock Purdy or defensive end Nick Bosa, who are injured. If the Packers win, they strengthen their place in the wild card, but the loss by the Niners would drop them to 5-6, two games behind Arizona with six games to go.

The Los Angeles Rams are 5-5 and play Sunday night at home against the 8-2 Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles are also favored in that game. A loss by L.A. also drops them to 5-6.

So Cardinals fans should be rooting for the Packers and the Eagles on Sunday.

A perfect Sunday would have the Cardinals handily beat the Seahawks and the Packers and Eagles both win.

Here’s to a potential perfect Week 12 for Arizona!

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

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Cardinals move up in NFC, get help in NFC West

Thanks to wins by the Broncos and Seahawks, the Cardinals are now No. 3 in the NFC and increased their lead in the NFC West.

The Arizona Cardinals didn’t play in Week 11 but moved up in the NFC playoff race. Thanks to a 38-6 win by the Denver Broncos over the Atlanta Falcons, the Cardinals are now third in the NFC.

They entered the week as the No. 4 seed at 6-4. Atlanta was also 6-4, but now that Atlanta has a fifth loss, the Cardinals are now in the No. 3 seed.

Arizona also increased its lead in the NFC West. Thanks to a 20-17 win by the Seattle Seahawks over the San Francisco 49ers, the Cardinals hold a full one-game lead over everyone. The 49ers, Seahawks and L.A. Rams are all 5-5.

For a bye week, it was a good one for the Cardinals. They moved up in the conference and increased their lead in the division.

Not bad.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

NFC playoff picture in Week 11 with Cardinals on bye

A look at the NFC standings and playoff race as the Cardinals are idle in Week 11.

The Arizona Cardinals are on their bye week and sit in first place in the NFC West at 6-4 and are fourth in the NFC playoff picture.

What does the NFC playoff race look like?

This is how things stand currently, although it does include the Thursday night game that had the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Washington Commanders and give them a leg up in the NFC East.

NFC playoff seedings, Week 11

  1. Detroit Lions, 8-1
  2. Philadelphia Eagles, 8-2
  3. Atlanta Falcons, 6-4
  4. Arizona Cardinals, 6-4
  5. Minnesota Vikings, 7-2
  6. Green Bay Packers, 6-3
  7. Washington Commanders, 7-4

In the mix are the 5-4 San Francisco 49ers and the 4-5 L.A. Rams, Seattle Seahawks and Chicago Bears.

The Cardinals can move up to the third seed if the Falcons lose to the Denver Broncos.

Every game every week now matters, but the Vikings-Titans game and Packers-Bears game will impact the Packers and Vikings and whether the standings remain the same.

San Francisco and Seattle play each other, which could make both teams 5-5 or could tie the Niners with the Cardinals at 6-4.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

 

NFL playoff clinching scenarios for Week 17

These are the possible playoff-clinching situations that can happen in Week 17.

The Arizona Cardinals are not going to the playoffs. However, the playoff race in the NFC and AFC is hot in the final two weeks of the regular season.

The No. 1 seed is still in play in both conferences. Multiple divisions have not been clinched and the wild cards are still undetermined.

In Week 17, here are the scenarios for playoff berths, division titles and the No. 1 seed.

NFC playoff picture: 49ers remain No. 1 seed despite loss

As Week 17 begins, let’s have a look at the NFC playoff picture.

The Arizona Cardinals were eliminated from postseason contention but three teams in the NFC West are currently in the NFC playoff picture.

The San Francisco 49ers remain atop the conference as the No. 1 seed who would, if the season ended today, have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and a first-round bye.

The Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams, both 8-7, would make the playoffs as wild card teams.

Let’s take a look at the NFC playoff picture, who is in the hunt and the games in Week 17 that will matter for postseason contention.

NFL Week 16 playoff, division-clinching scenarios

Check out what teams can clinch playoff berths and division titles in Week 16 and how it can happen.

The Arizona Cardinals are out of playoff contention but Cardinals fans can pay attention to what is happening in the rest of the league.

Let’s look at the different Week 16 scenarios there are for teams to clinch postseason berths or to win their divisions.

49ers clinch NFC West with 45-29 win over Cardinals

The Niners’ 45-29 win over the Cardinals wrapped up the NFC West title and eliminated the Cardinals from postseason contention.

The NFC West race is over, at least for the division title. San Francisco 49ers  clinched the NFC West division title with a 45-29 victory over the Arizona Cardinals Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Week 15.

The win improved them to 11-3. They remain the top seed in the NFC.

Their win in Arizona was their sixth straight. They are 5-0 in division play.

They were shorthanded on defense but their offense dominated.

Quarterback Brock Purdy had four touchdown passes in the win, bringing his total to 29 with seven interceptions.

Running back Christian McCaffrey had another huge game against Arizona. After 177 yards from scrimmage in Week 4 and scoring four touchdowns, he piled up 187 total yards and scored three times on Sunday in Week 15.

The NFL’s leading rusher increased his total to 1,292 through 14 games. He had over 100 rushing yards in both games against the Cardinals.

With the division title wrapped up, now it is a race for remaining atop the NFC as the No. 1 seed, earning a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Their final three games are at home against the Baltimore Ravens, on the road against the Washington Commanders and at home against the Los Angeles Rams.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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