The Arizona Cardinals’ loss on Sunday to the Jacksonville Jaguars has brought their season to a new low. The Cardinals now sit at 3-8, tied with three other teams, with six games remaining. Arizona started the year 2-0, but it has lost eight of its last nine games, including three straight.
There’s not really a good way to put it, but the Cardinals should be much better than they are. Arizona continues to find ways to lose close games.
What Do the Cardinals’ Playoff and Draft Chances Look Like?
It’s a broken record at this point, but the Cardinals have led in the fourth quarter in eight of their 11 games. The Red Birds have two blowouts this year, but other than that, every other loss has been by one possession.
The Cardinals have six losses this season by a combined 16 points. Now, with three straight losses, the Cardinals have a 0% chance to make the playoffs, according to PFSN’s NFL Playoff Meter.
While Arizona isn’t mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, given its upcoming schedule and current record, PFSN’s analytics give the Cardinals little chance to make the postseason.
The Cardinals’ remaining opponents are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Rams, Houston Texans, Atlanta Falcons, Cincinnati Bengals, and the Rams again. The Buccaneers are a current playoff team, but may be without quarterback Baker Mayfield. The Rams hold the No. 1 seed in the NFC and have not taken on inferior teams.
The Texans are right in the playoff mix in the AFC and are only getting healthier, and the Bengals should have quarterback Joe Burrow back in a wide-open AFC North division.
The Cardinals currently have a 30.8% chance of finishing the year with five wins and a 28.8% chance of finishing the year with six wins. That would mean Arizona wins two or three more games.
As it stands, the Cardinals have a better than 75% chance of securing a Top 10 draft pick, which is where they would draft if the season ended today.
Arizona has almost a 25% chance to get a Top 5 pick and nearly a 10% chance to get a Top 3 pick. The Cardinals have practically a 5% chance at a Top 2 pick and a 1.1% chance at the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Cardinals have talent on their roster, and they’re a team that could be 9-3 or even 10-2 if they finish games, but that hasn’t happened. Arizona’s remaining schedule doesn’t get any easier, which could mean a nice draft pick is in store for the Cardinals to add to their roster.
