Tag: NFC playoffs picture

Packers overtake Cardinals for No. 1 seed in NFC

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:

  1. Green Bay Packers, 7-1
  2. Arizona Cardinals, 7-1
  3. Dallas Cowboys, 6-1
  4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 6-2
  5. Los Angeles Rams, 7-1
  6. New Orleans Saints, 5-2
  7. 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.

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Week 15 matchups that matter for the Cardinals in the NFC playoff picture

The Cardinals need to win to keep the Bears or Viking from overtaking them in the playoff race.

The Arizona Cardinals enter Week 15 in the No. 7 seed in the NFC and would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. They control their destiny as they take on the Philadelphia Eagles.

They obviously need to win to stay in that spot.

However, other games around the league in Week 15 matter in the NFC playoff race and affect the Cardinals.


Cardinals still holding on to final wild-card berth in NFC playoff race

They didn’t lose ground in Week 12 but have a very important game this weekend against the L.A. Rams.

The Arizona Cardinals have lost two games in a row and three of four but still remain in the playoff race at 6-5. After 11 games, they are in the seventh and final spot in the NFC playoffs.

Here is what the standings look like after 12 weeks.

  1. New Orleans Saints, 9-2
  2. Seattle Seahawks, 8-3
  3. Green Bay Packers, 8-3
  4. New York Giants, 4-7
  5. Los Angeles Rams, 7-4
  6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 7-5
  7. Arizona Cardinals, 6-5

Three teams behind the Cardinals are 5-6 — the Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers.

Luckily for the Cardinals, they did not lose ground in the wild card race. While they lost to the Patriots, the Rams, Bucs and Bears all lost, too.

What is coming in Week 13 for these teams?

The Bears and Vikings both have a good chance to winning and evening their record at 6-6. The Bears host the 4-7 Detroit Lions who just fired MattPatricia as head coach. The Vikings play the 1-10 Jacksonville Jaguars at home.

The Saints travel to play the Atlanta Falcons. Without Drew Brees at quarterback, Atlanta might win that game.

The Seahawks are at home against the Giants. The Packers play the Philadelphia Eagles at home, while the Cardinals and Rams face each other at State Farm Stadium.

The 49ers will play the AFC East-leading Buffalo Bills. It is technically a home game, but it is being played at the Cardinals’ stadium because they are unable to play in their own because of restrictions put in place in Santa Clara.

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Despite loss, Cardinals got help around the league in Week 13

Because all the teams around them in the playoff race also lost, they didn’t lose ground.

The Arizona Cardinals hurt their playoff chances on Sunday with a 20-17 loss to the New England Patriots. However, despite the loss, they didn’t really lose ground because teams around the league helped them.

What happened in Week 13?

The Los Angeles Rams, who were in first place in the NFC West, lost to the San Francisco 49ers 23-20 on the last play of the game. The 7-4 Rams come to town next week to face the 6-5 Cardinals. A win by the Cardinals will give them the same record as L.A. but put them ahead in the standings.

The Chicago Bears, the team in the NFC behind the Cardinals in the conference standings, also lost on Sunday, getting blown out 41-25 by the Green Bay Packers. At 5-6, they remain a game behind Arizona and out of the postseason right now.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who entered the week half a game ahead of the Cardinals in the playoff race, also lost on Sunday, falling 27-24 to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Essentially, the Cardinals might have lost and certainly did hurt their chances for the postseason, but they did not lose ground at all because everyone else around them also lost.

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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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