The Cardinals can finish as either the No. 2 seed, the No. 3 seed or the No. 5 seed.
The Arizona Cardinals have clinched a playoff berth this year and will be playing in the wild card round of the postseason. However, where they will play and against whom has yet to be determined.
Depending on how things play out in Week 18, the Cardinals could be the No. 2 seed, the No. 3 seed or the No. 5 seed.
Let’s look at how the different scenarios are possible.
A look at the current NFC West standings, what happened in Week 17 and what is coming up in Week 18, including a look at the playoff race.
We enter the final week of the regular season and the entire NFC West won in Week 17. Two teams have clinched postseason berths, another is in contention and the division title is still up for grabs.
Here are the division standings are 17 weeks.
Los Angeles Rams, 12-4
Arizona Cardinals, 11-5
San Francisco 49ers, 9-7
Seattle Seahawks, 6-10
What happened in Week 17 and what is coming up in Week 18? We go over each team’s situation below.
There is only one playoff spot up for grabs in the NFC entering the final week of the regular season.
There is only one spot remaining in the NFC playoffs and the top seed has been determined. The Green Bay Packers clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC, a playoff bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a 37-10 home win over the Minnesota Vikings to improve to 13-3.
The Philadelphia Eagles also clinched a playoff berth. The final spot will come down to the San Francisco 49ers and the New Orleans Saints.
This is what the playoff standings look like entering Week 18.
Green Bay Packers, 13-3
Los Angeles Rams, 12-4
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 12-4
Dallas Cowboys, 11-5
Arizona Cardinals, 11-5
San Francisco 49ers, 9-7
Philadelphia Eagles, 9-7
The New Orleans Saints are still alive in Week 18 at 8-8.
NFC playoff picture: What happened in Week 17
The Packers clinched the No. 1 seed with a 37-10 win over the Vikings, eliminating Minnesota from playoff contention.
The Rams picked up a last-minute touchdown to beat the Baltimore Ravens 20-19.
The Buccaneers rallied from a 24-10 deficit to the New York Jets to win 28-24 on a 33-yard touchdown pass with 15 seconds left in the game.
The Cowboys lost to the Cardinals 25-22 in Dallas, ending a four-game winning streak and snapping Arizona’s three-game skid.
The 49ers beat the Houston Texans 23-7
The Eagles clinched a playoff berth with a 20-16 win over Washington.
NFC playoff picture: Coming up in Week 18
The Packers are on the road for a meaningless game for them against the Detroit Lions.
The Rams host the 49ers and can win the NFC West with a win.
The Buccaneers host the Carolina Panthers.
The Cowboys play the Eagles on the road on Saturday.
The Cardinals host the Seahawks and can win the NFC West if they win and the Rams lose.
The 49ers will clinch a playoff spot with a win over the Rams on the road.
The Saints face the Atlanta Falcons on the road. If the 49ers lose and Saints win, New Orleans heads to the playoffs.
The NFC West will come down to the Cardinals or the Rams and will depend on their respective games in Week 18.
The NFC West is still up for grabs entering the final week of the season. The Los Angeles Rams hold a one-game lead over the Arizona Cardinals.
The Rams are 12-4 and the Cardinals are 11-5 but either team can win the division and host a playoff game in the wild card round of the postseason.
The Rams will clinch the division with a win in Week 18 over the San Francisco 49ers at home. The 49ers have won the last five matchups between the two teams.
The 49ers are hungry as well. They need a win in Week 18 to clinch a playoff berth.
The Cardinals, who led the NFC West pretty much the entire season until Week 16, can earn the division title if they beat the Seattle Seahawks at home in Week 18 and the 49ers beat the Rams.
That result would make both teams 12-5 but the Cardinals would own a divisional tiebreaker, having gone 5-1 in the division.
Both teams kick off at the same time at 4:25 p.m. ET in Week 18.
So Cardinals fans happen to be 49ers fans for a week as they hope Arizona can rally in the final week and reclaim the division lead they had almost all year.
If the Cardinals lose and the Rams win this weekend, L.A. will have clinched the NFC West title.
The Arizona Cardinals led the NFC West for basically the entire season until last week. After three straight losses and four Rams wins in a row, the Cardinals now trail by a game.
The Rams can actually clinch the division with a week left in the regular season.
They have two scenarios to clinch.
The Rams will win the NFC West if they beat the Baltimore Ravens this weekend and the Cardinals lose their game to the Dallas Cowboys or if the game ends in a tie.
The Rams also win if they tie with the Ravens and the Cardinals lose.
If the Rams lose and the Cardinals win, Arizona will actually retake the division lead. Both teams would be 11-5 but the Cardinals would hold the divisional tiebreak, leading to a season finale where the division is on the line.
Check out the latest edition of the show breaking down all that is going on with the Arizona Cardinals. It’s the best hour of Cardinals talk on the Web.
The Arizona Cardinals have clinched a spot in the NFL playoffs and the latest edition of the podcast talks about it. With Seth Cox away for the holidays, Revenge of the Birds podcast host Blake Murphy joined me on the show to talk about all that has been going on with the Cardinals.
We recorded the show on Tuesday night after the news of the passing of John Madden, so we began the show reminiscing about Madden from each of our perspectives. I, many years old than Blake, still remember his broadcaster days.
After that, we talk about how the Cardinals made the playoffs and whether it mattered. Did they back in? We break down the loss to the Colts, discuss what has to change in the final two games of the regular season, go over how the Cardinals can still win the division and then preview their Week 17 game against the Dallas Cowboys.
A big thanks to Blake for stepping in. Enjoy the show!
Enjoy the show with the embedded player above or by subscribing to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast platform, so you never miss a show. Make sure as well to give it a five-star rating!
Here are the timestamps for our different topics of the show.
(1:00) Intros and remembering John Madden
(6:54) Does it matter how the Cardinals made the postseason?
(18:32) What happened against the Colts?
(34:47) What do the Cardinals need to change in the final two games of the regular season?
(41:55) How can the Cardinals still win the NFC West?
Making the playoffs two weeks before the end of the season is great, but the Cardinals know they must improve and play better football.
The Arizona Cardinals clinched a playoff spot with two games to go in the regular season, although it feels like they backed into it. They had three opportunities to clinch with a win and lost all three games. Thanks to losses by the San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings, they made it into the playoffs.
While the way the Cardinals made it is not ideal, the fact they did with two weeks to go in the season is a testament to the success they had early in the season.
But even with a playoff game guaranteed now, the Cardinals have bigger goals than that and they know they must be better.
“To be in the playoffs with two games left is an accomplishment, we understand that, but we know we’ve got to improve a lot and play better football,” Kliff Kingsbury told reporters on Monday.
The focus has not been on making the playoffs. The message has been get better and win each week, and the other things like the playoffs will take care of themselves.
However, they have been making mistakes. Penalties and missed kicks plagued them in their loss to the Colts.
“We’ve got to stop hurting ourselves in these games before we even think about taking the next step,” Kingsbury said.
With two games to go, they can turn things around. They have a road game this week against the Dallas Cowboys and close the regular season at home against the Seattle Seahawks. They still actually have a chance at winning the division, although they will need some help.
But as long as they can get back to playing good football by the time the postseason comes around, they will be a team to worry about. If they don’t, then a 7-0 start might end in being bumped out of the wild card round.
Five teams in the NFC have now clinched a playoff berth.
The Arizona Cardinals spent most of the season as the No. 1 team in the NFC. However, after three straight losses, they are now a wild card team. All four division leaders now have better records than the Cardinals.
This is what the NFC playoff standings look like entering Week 17.
Green Bay Packers, 12-3
Dallas Cowboys, 11-4
Los Angeles Rams, 11-4
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 11-4
Arizona Cardinals, 10-5
San Francisco 49ers 8-7
Philadelphia Eagles, 8-7
The Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saint are all just behind the Eagles and 49ers at 7-8.
The Cowboys are ahead of the Rams and Bucs based on a 9-1 conference record, while the Rams are ahead of the Bucs because of their head-to-head win in Week 3. The 49ers hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Eagles for the sixth seed.
What happened in Week 16?
The Packers beat the Browns 24-22 no Christmas Day to stay atop the conference.
The Cowboys obliterated Washington 56-14 on Sunday night.
The Rams held off the Vikings 30-23 to take the NFC West lead over the Cardinals. They clinched a playoff berth with a win.
The Bucs clinched the division with a 32-6 win over the Carolina Panthers.
The Cardinals dropped their third straight game, losing 22-16 to the Indianapolis Colts. They clinched a playoff spot, though because the 49ers and Vikings both lost.
The 49ers lost to the Tennessee Titans 20-17 on Thursday night.
The Eagles won their third game in a row, beating the New York Giants 34-10.
Coming up in Week 17
The Packers play the Vikings at home on Sunday night.
The Cowboys host the Cardinals.
The Rams take on the Baltimore Ravens on the road.
The Buccaneers face the four-win New York Jets on the road.
The 49ers are at home against the four-win Houston Texans, who have won three in a row.
The Eagles take on the Washington Football Team on the road.
The Cardinals lost their division lead to the Rams in Week 16. Despite three straight losses, the Cardinals can still win the NFC West.
The Arizona Cardinals are in the postseason and will be at least a wild card team after their final two games of the regular season. However, for the first time this season, they now trail in the NFC West standings. They are one game behind the Los Angeles Rams.
The Rams overtook the Cardinals with a 30-23 win over the Minnesota Vikings, improving to 11-4, while the Cardinals lost 22-16 to the Indianapolis Colts, dropping them to 10-5.
With two games to go in the regular season, the Cardinals can still win the NFC West.
There are two scenarios.
In one, the Cardinals must win both remaining games, on the road against the Dallas Cowboys and at home against the Seattle Seahawks. The Rams must lose at least one of their final two games, on the road against the Baltimore Ravens or at home against the San Francisco 49ers. The Cardinals would be 12-5 and the Rams either are 12-5 or 11-6. If the Rams finish 12-5 with the Cardinals, Arizona wins the division with a 5-1 division record over L.A.’s 4-2.
In the other, if the Rams lose their final two games, the Cardinals can lose to Dallas and still win the division by beating the Seahawks. They would both be 11-6 but the Cardinals win by the divisional tiebreaker again.
Of course, with the Cardinals having lost their last three games and the Rams having won their last four, unless something changes quickly, it feels like how the standings are is how they will finish in two weeks.
