The Arizona Cardinals didn’t play on Sunday, but the rest of their NFC West Division foes did, and they didn’t help the Cardinals’ slim playoff chances one bit.
The Cardinals will take center stage on Monday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys on national television.
Arizona could either make a statement against the Cowboys or dig itself a hole too deep to climb out of. However, with the strength of their division, the Cardinals’ playoff hopes are currently on life support.
How Did the NFC West Division Play on Sunday?
The Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, and Seattle Seahawks all won on Sunday against their respective opponents, and now all have six wins on the season.
The Seahawks dominated the Washington Commanders on Sunday Night Football, and the Rams took care of business against the New Orleans Saints, tying them atop the division.
The 49ers handled a late push from the Giants to get their sixth win of the year, but have one more loss than the Rams and Seahawks, and sit in third place in the NFC West.
However, the 49ers have a win over the Rams and Seahawks, so if it were to come to a tie-breaker, the 49ers would currently win that battle.
With the rest of the NFC West winning on Sunday, the pressure has mounted on the Cardinals to do the same on Monday night.
According to PFSN’s NFL Football Playoff Meter, the Rams lead the division with a 50.8% chance to win the division and a 89.3% chance to make the playoffs.
The Seahawks are second in the division, with a 27.8% chance of winning the division and a 75.1% chance of making the playoffs. Then, the 49ers have a 21.1% chance to win the NFC West and a 73.2% chance to make the playoffs.
The NFC West division has three of the NFL’s five teams with six wins, and that makes the position the Cardinals are in that much tougher.
Arizona, sitting at 2-5, has just a 0.3% chance of winning the division and a 3.6% chance of making the playoffs. It doesn’t help that the Cardinals have already lost a game to the 49ers and Seahawks.
Monday night’s game against the Cowboys is basically a must-win for any living playoff hopes, because then Arizona plays five straight teams in the playoff picture.
However, the Cardinals will play four of their remaining nine games against NFC West division foes, which means they have some control over their destiny. But that also means there’s almost no room for error.
The Cardinals will rely on quarterback Jacoby Brissett to start on Monday night and will look to get the run game going to keep the Cowboys’ quarterback, Dak Prescott, on the sideline.
The game kicks off at 6:15 p.m. from AT&T Stadium.