A look at the NFC West and the division race with four games remaining in the regular season.
The NFC West is getting a little more interesting. The Arizona Cardinals still sit atop the division and are in the driver’s seat but everyone else below them closed the gap by a game. The Cardinals lost their Week 14 game and the rest of the division won.
Here is what the division standings look like entering Week 15:
Arizona Cardinals, 10-3
Los Angeles Rams, 9-4
San Francisco 49ers, 7-6
Seattle Seahawks, 5-8
Let’s look at what happened for each team and what is coming up this week.
The Cardinals, Packers and Buccaneers are all now 10-3 and vying for the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
The Arizona Cardinals lost control of the NFC with their loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night in Week 14. With their loss, there are now three teams in the NFC with a 10-3 record but the Green Bay Packers are now at the top.
After 14 weeks, here is what the NFC playoff picture now looks like.
Green Bay Packers 10-3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10-3
Arizona Cardinals 10-3
Dallas Cowboys 9-4
Los Angeles Rams 9-4
San Francisco 49ers 7-6
Washington Football Team 6-7
The Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints are all also 6-7.
The Packers are 8-2 in the conference while the Bucs and Cardinals are 6-3 in NFC games. The Packers also hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over Arizona.
If the season ended today, the Cardinals would host the San Francisco 49ers in the wild card round, playing them for the third time this season.
What happened in Week 14
The Packers beat the Bears 45-30
The Buccaneers needed overtime to beat the Bills 33-27
The Cardinals lost at home on Monday night to the Rams 30-23.
The Cowboys beat Washington 27-20
The 49ers outlasted the Bengals in overtime 26-23
The Vikings beat the Steelers, the Saints beat the Jets, the Falcons beat the Panthers and the Eagles were idle.
Coming up in Week 15
The Packers face the 8-5 Ravens on the road, but they might not face Lamar Jackson, who injured his ankle in their game on Sunday.
The Bucs host the Saints on Sunday night.
The Cardinals face the one-win Lions on the road.
The Rams host the Seahawks.
The Cowboys face the 4-8 Giants on the road.
The 49ers host the Falcons.
Washington is on the road against the Eagles.
The Vikings are on the road against the Bears Monday night.
The Packers, Buccaneers and Cowboys all won in Week 14, meaning the Cardinals must beat the Rams Monday night to stay as the No. 1 seed.
The Arizona Cardinals will face the Los Angeles Rams Monday night with a chance to maintain their lead in the NFC West and their status as No. 1 seed in the NFC. They will clinch a playoff spot with a win.
However, they did not get any help from the teams chasing them.
The Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears 45-30. At 10-3, if the Cardinals lose to the Rams, the Packers will overtake them as the No. 1 seed.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers also improved to 10-3 with a 33-27 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills.
A Cardinals loss tonight would mean the NFC has three 10-3 teams.
A win keeps them a game ahead of both teams.
Even the Dallas Cowboys won, beating Washington 27-20 and improving to 9-4.
None of it matters this week if the Cardinals beat the Rams, but it sure would be nice if they could get some help in the final weeks.
Cardinals fans have to wait until Monday night to watch their team. They can pay attention to these Week 14 games that have NFC playoff implications.
The Arizona Cardinals do not play in Week 14 until Monday night but there are plenty of games on the schedule that matter in the NFC playoff race. The Cardinals remain the No. 1 seed.
Their own game against the Los Angeles Rams has playoff implications, but which Sunday games should be of interest for Cardinals fans, either because the games impact the playoff race or because they affect the Cardinals?
Only three teams remain with a shot at the NFC West division title after Week 13. The Cardinals hold a two-game lead over the Rams and the Seahawks were eliminated.
There are five games and five weeks remaining in the regular season and the NFC West is still very much up for grabs, although one team has been eliminated from contention for the division title.
The Arizona Cardinals won for the 10th time this season and remain in the division lead.
Here are the current division standings entering Week 14.
Arizona Cardinals 10-2
Los Angeles Rams 8-4
San Francisco 49ers 6-6
Seattle Seahawks 4-8
The Cardinals maintain a two-game lead over the Rams, while the Seahawks are no longer in contention for the division title. The best they can do is 9-8 if they win all their remaining games, while the Cardinals already have 10.
Let’s take a look at what happened for each team last weekend and what is coming up in Week 14.
A look at the NFC playoff picture as we enter Week 13. The Cardinals remain atop the conference but hold a half-game lead over the Packers.
All but one game of the Week 12 schedule have been played and we know what the NFC playoff picture looks like. The Monday night game between the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Football Team has minimal impact on the NFC playoff race.
The Arizona Cardinals remain atop the conference and the Packers got a little closer.
Here is the playoff picture in the NFC at the start of Week 13.
Arizona Cardinals 9-2
Green Bay Packers 9-3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 8-3
Dallas Cowboys 7-4
Los Angeles Rams 7-4
San Francisco 49ers 6-5
Minnesota Vikings 5-6
The Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints are both 5-6 and clearly in the mix still. Washington is 4-6 and, with a win over Seattle Monday night, will also have the same record as the Vikings.
What happened in Week 12?
The Cardinals did not play. They had their bye week.
The Packers defeated the Rams 36-28.
The Bucs won for the second straight week, defeating the Colts 38-31.
The Cowboys lost on Thanksgiving 36-33 in overtime to the Raiders.
The Rams lost their third game in a row in the 36-28 defeat to the Packers.
The 49ers beat the Vikings 34-26.
The Saints were blown out 31-6 by the Bills on Thanksgiving night, while the Falcons beat the Jaguars 21-14.
Coming up in Week 13
The Cardinals are on the road against the 4-7 Bears and could have Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins back in the lineup.
The Packers will have their bye.
The Bucs will travel to Atlanta to face the Falcons.
The Cowboys play the Saints Thursday night on the road.
The Rams return home to face the 2-9 Jaguars.
The 49ers have a divisional battle on the road against the 3-7 Seahawks, who play Monday night in Week 12.
The Vikings are on the road to face the winless Lions.
Check out the latest NFC rankings as we enter Week 12.
Entering Week 11, the Arizona Cardinals were tied with the Green Bay Packers for the best record in the conference at 8-2. However, because the Packers beat the Cardinals in Week 8, they were the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
For the Cardinals to be able to reclaim the No. 1 seed, they needed to beat the Seattle Seahawks and get some help.
The Cardinals won and got some help.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers still play Monday night, but this is what the NFC playoff race looks like after Sunday’s games.
Arizona Cardinals 9-2
Green Bay Packers 8-3
Dallas Cowboys 7-3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6-3
Los Angeles Rams 7-3
Minnesota Vikings 5-5
New Orleans Saints 5-5
The San Francisco 49ers are right there in the mix at 5-5, while the Philadelphia Eagles and Carolina Panthers are 5-6 and looming in the race.
What happened in Week 11?
The Cardinals went on the road and defeated the Seattle Seahawks 23-13 behind backup quarterback Colt McCoy.
The Packers lost to the Vikings 34-31 on a last-second field goal by Greg Joseph. Joseph has helped the Cardinals twice — once by missing a game-winning kick against Arizona in Week 2 and then making one on Sunday.
The Cowboys were taken down 19-9 by the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Bucs play the Giants Monday night.
The Rams were on their bye, so they did not play in Week 11.
The Saints lost 40-29 to the Eagles.
The 49ers beat the Jaguars 30-10.
The Panthers lost 27-21 to Washington.
Coming up in Week 12
The Cardinals have their bye week.
The Packers host the Rams Sunday afternoon.
The Cowboys, who play every Thanksgiving at home, host the 5-5 Las Vegas Raiders, who have lost three games in a row.
The Buccaneers, after playing Monday night in Week 11, will face the red-hot Indianapolis Colts on the road. Indy has won three games in a row.
The Rams are on the road against the Packers.
The Vikings and 49ers play in Santa Clara. If the 49ers win, they will move ahead of the Vikings in the playoff race.
Check out which Week 11 games also affect the Cardinals in the NFC playoff picture.
The Arizona Cardinals are very much in control of their playoff destiny where they stand in Week 11. They lead the NFC West and, at 8-2, are second in the NFC, behind only the Green Bay Packers, who are also 8-2 but hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over them.
However, it never hurts to get help, so, other than their divisional matchup against the Seattle Seahawks on the road, here are the games that matter most to the Cardinals in Week 11 and what outcomes benefit them most.
The Packers and Cardinals both are 8-2 but the Packers hold a tiebreaker that makes them the No, 1 seed in the NFC entering Week 11.
After 10 weeks of the NFL season, there was another change at the top of the NFC standings. The Arizona Cardinals lost to the Carolina Panthers and the Green Bay Packers beat the Seattle Seahawks. As a result, with both teams at 8-2 on the season and with Green Bay holding a head-to-head tiebreaker over Arizona because of their Week 8 win in Arizona, there is a new No. 1 in the conference.
This is what the playoff picture looks like after 10 weeks.
Green Bay Packers 8-2 (6-1 in conference)
Arizona Cardinals 8-2 (4-2 in conference)
Dallas Cowboys 7-2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6-4
Los Angeles Rams 7-3
New Orleans Saints 5-4
Carolina Panthers 5-5
The Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers are all in the mix at 4-5, half a game behind the Panthers.
What happened in Week 10
The Packers shut out the Seattle Seahawks 17-0.
The Cardinals, missing Kyler Murray, Chase Edmonds, DeAndre Hopkins and two starting offensive linemen, lost 34-10 to the Panthers.
The Cowboys walloped the Falcons 43-3.
The Buccaneers lost to Washington 29-19.
The Rams lost to the 49ers 31-10 on Monday night.
The Saints were on their bye.
The Panthers beat the Cardinals 34-10 in Cam Newton’s return. He rushed for a touchdown and passed for another in his first two plays of the year.
Coming up in Week 11
The Packers are on the road against the Vikings.
The Cardinals travel to Seattle to take on the Seahawks.
The Cowboys will face the Kansas City Chiefs on the road in a battle between Dak Prescott and Patrick Mahomes.
The Buccaneers host the New York Giants on Monday night.
The Rams are on their bye.
The Saints play the Philadelphia Eagles on the road.
The Panthers host Washington as Newton will face former head coach Ron Rivera.
The Packers overtook the Cardinals for the No. 1 seed in the NFC as we hit the midpoint of the season.
It is only halfway through the 2021 NFL season, but the NFC playoff race is heating up at the top.
The Arizona Cardinals, who lost for the first time all season, lost the No. 1 seed in the conference. The Green Bay Packers, who won their seventh straight game and defeated the Cardinals Thursday night, now are atop the conference.
Here is what the NFC playoff picture looks like:
Green Bay Packers, 7-1
Arizona Cardinals, 7-1
Dallas Cowboys, 6-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 6-2
Los Angeles Rams, 7-1
New Orleans Saints, 5-2
Carolina Panthers, 4-4
The Minnesota Vikings, San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons all follow at 3-4.
The Packers hold a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Cardinals, meaning the Cardinals must finish with a better record than the Packers to finish ahead of them.
This is why the Rams are currently a wild card team at 7-1. The Cardinals hold a head-to-head tiebreaker over them with their 37-20 win in L.A. The Cardinals and Rams will play again in Week 13.
What is on deck in Week 9?
The Packers take on the Kansas City Chiefs on the road.
The Cardinals are on the road against the 49ers.
The Cowboys host the Denver Broncos
The Bucs are on their bye.
The Rams host the Tennessee Titans, who have lost running back Derrick Henry to a foot injury.
The Saints, who appear to have lost QB Jameis Winston indefinitely, host the Falcons.
