What Next for the Cardinals in the Playoff Pursuit?
The Arizona Cardinals are relaxing at home this Sunday as leaders of the NFC West and winners of their last four games as their bye week arrives.
The Cardinals are in control of their destiny moving forward, and with a favorable schedule as the second half of their slate arrives, Arizona figures to factor into the playoff picture down the stretch.
When the dust is settled, will the Cardinals find themselves in the playoffs?
Our staff predictions:
Donnie Druin
Record Prediction: 10-7
Do Cardinals Make Playoffs?: No. I wrote about this previously but the Cardinals will have a tough path to the postseason if they don’t clinch the division with how strong the middle of the NFC playoff picture is. It’ll go down to the wire, surely, but it’s tough to imagine one of the other divisional teams not catching fire down the stretch.
Kevin Hicks
Record Prediction: 11-6
Do Cardinals Make Playoffs?: Yes. It feels like the team is putting it together at the right time. They will also be gaining a key reinforcement in the form of Darius Robinson in short order – it also cannot be overstated how much Jonathan Gannon and Nick Rallis have maximized a surprisingly productive defense that simply lacks household names. The Cards can’t take anything for granted, but a remaining schedule that features a pair of games against the faltering Seahawks, along with dates with the Patriots and Panthers feels like one that can be seamlessly managed. The Cardinals should be able to do enough over the last seven games to get in regardless if it is as a division winner or wild card squad.
Kyler Burd
Record Prediction: 10-7
Do the Cardinals Make Playoffs?: Probably. The best path for the Cardinals to make it into the postseason is through winning the NFC West, in which they are currently leading the division. There are seven games remaining this season with four of them being in-division. Thankfully, the Cardinals already have two divisional wins, one each against the Rams and 49ers. They will be facing the Seahawks twice in the first three weeks after the bye and if they can sweep their divisional opponents in that stretch than the likelihood of playoffs goes up significantly. If they can’t hold on to first place it will probably be less likely to see them take one of the three wildcard spots at 10-7, but certainly not impossible. The NFC currently has 8 teams with a winning record and if those trends continue it might see the Cardinals with their first winning record in the last 4 seasons on the outside looking in at the playoffs.
Alex D’Agostino
Record Prediction: 10-7
Do the Cardinals Make Playoffs?: Probably. It will all come down to divisional games, and not for the reason you might think. Yes, the best way for Arizona to make the postseason would be to win the division they are currently leading, but when the NFC playoff picture is actually examined, the truth is that the biggest threats in the Wild Card race are actually the same teams they’ll have to beat to win the division. It’s realistic to expect the 49ers or Rams to turn it on and start winning games, but the Bears appear to be on a downward trajectory, and no one can be sure what the Buccaneers are up to at this point. Regardless of whether or not Arizona can truly win the division, they’ll most likely only mathematically need to be better than two of their divisional opponents, perhaps only one, and if they can go at least 2-1 against the Rams and Seahawks, that will be close to a guarantee with how much more manageable Arizona’s non-divisional schedule looks. Of course, it will come down to taking care of business down the stretch, which the Cardinals are notoriously bad at, but on paper, a second-place divisional standing can still grant Arizona a Wild Card appearance.
Richie Bradshaw
Record prediction: 10-7
Do the Cardinals Make Playoffs? The Cardinals have six wins at the bye week just like we all predicted. But jokes aside, the Cards have competed all year long and they’re as tough as anyone to beat right now. The Birds are on a four-game heater and have won five of their last six games. The upcoming schedule is incredibly forgiving to the point of which Arizona could potentially double their wins – yes, I mean that. Will it happen? Probably not, as one would imagine that the upcoming teams will be better prepared for a Cardinals squad that has caught the league sleeping. With seven games to go including four road games, I have the Cards finishing no worse than 4-3 down the stretch. I believe if they keep playing the way they have by playing up to their competition that they will win more than that, but I’m comfortably taking a winning record in the second-half of the season for 10-wins and a playoff spot. Book it.
