This Week 13 Scenario Officially Eliminates Cardinals From Postseason

The Arizona Cardinals could be mathematically eliminated from the postseason this week.

After a 2-0 start, the Cardinals have lost their last eight-of-nine games, six of which have come by four points or less.

The following list of outcomes would officially knock Arizona out of the playoff picture:

• ARI loss (at TB) + GB win + CHI win/tie

While Arizona is 2.5-point underdogs, the Green Bay Packers are three-point dogs to the Detroit Lions while the Chicago Bears are touchdown underdogs to the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Cardinals move into Week 13 with a 3-8 record. According to Joe Ferreira, this would be the earliest in a season Arizona is knocked out of the postseason since 1986.

They haven't made the playoffs since 2021.

The New York Giants were previously eliminated last week while all of the Tennessee Titans, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints and Washington Commanders also face the potential for elimination.

According to The Athletic's playoff simulator, the Cardinals could win the remainder of their games and have just a 2% chance to make the postseason.

Cardinals Know They're Hanging by a Thread

Arizona, in many of their games, has collapsed in the fourth quarter. End of game decisions and mechanics has been a hot topic in Arizona surrounding Jonathan Gannon, as the head coach has been under heavy fire this season.

“When we look at those games that you're talking about, we evaluate everything that we're doing and then we implement certain things to try to fix problems that keep showing up over and over. That's what anybody would do, but I believe in our process and our people," Gannon said when asked about making changes.

"(For) the sake of change, to think that you're going to get a different result, I don't believe in that (with) where we're at right now. I think these games that are coming down to one score games, you can look at a couple plays here or there, but I showed the defense the first drive of the game.

"They're backed up and five plays later it's 7-0, and really not for anything schematically that they did. Those are the things that I point out that it's like, hey, let's fix these day one install plays on a sail route, on a stretch play, on a four-way post wheel three out man to man zone beater that we're in man to man.

"Let's do those a little bit better. Then in critical moments, (it comes down to) do we have the right thought process, and can we execute? I think we have the right thought process, and I've seen us execute. We just have to do it a little higher level.”

Time is slowly running out for the Cardinals to do just that.

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