As we head toward the home stretch of the 2024 NFL season, the playoff picture is coming into focus. Are the Cardinals still in a strong position to make the playoffs? Below we examine Arizona’s playoff outlook using PFN’s Playoff Predictor.
Can the Cardinals Still Make the Playoffs?
The Arizona Cardinals are 6-7 and now have a 21% chance to make the playoffs.
They have a 0% chance for the first seed, a 0.4% chance for the second seed, a 9.8% chance for the third seed, a 4.5% chance for the fourth seed, a <0.1% chance for the fifth seed, a 0.6% chance for the sixth seed, and a 5.7% chance for the seventh seed.
Can the Cardinals Still Win the NFC West?
Here’s what the NFC West race looks like:
- The Arizona Cardinals have a 14.7% chance to win the NFC West.
- The Seattle Seahawks have a 52.2% chance to win the NFC West.
- The Los Angeles Rams have a 26.1% chance to win the NFC West.
- The San Francisco 49ers have a 7% chance to win the NFC West.
NFC Playoff Race | Week 18
1. Detroit Lions (14-2)
2. Philadelphia Eagles (13-3)
3. Los Angeles Rams (10-6)
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7)
5. Minnesota Vikings (14-2)
6. Washington Commanders (11-5)
7. Green Bay Packers (11-5)
In The Hunt
9. Atlanta Falcons (8-8)
Eliminated From Playoffs
8. Seattle Seahawks (9-7)
10. Dallas Cowboys (7-9)
11. Arizona Cardinals (7-9)
12. San Francisco 49ers (6-10)
13. New Orleans Saints (5-11)
14. Chicago Bears (4-12)
15. Carolina Panthers (4-12)
16. New York Giants (3-13)
Seahawks’ Remaining Schedule
- Week 15: vs. New England Patriots
- Week 16: at Carolina Panthers
- Week 17: at Los Angeles Rams
- Week 18: vs. San Francisco 49ers
Seahawks at Cardinals Preview Before the Game
This is the second meeting between these two teams, with the first coming a mere two weeks ago. That was a low-scoring, offensively-challenged affair with the Seahawks prevailing by a score of 16-6.
While we can reasonably project this game to see more scoring, the Cardinals have been surprisingly solid on defense this season. Over their last four games, they’re allowing just 13.5 points per game. A big part of that has been their seventh-ranked opponent red-zone efficiency. When teams get close to the goal line, the Cardinals have been adept at holding them to field goals.
Where the Cardinals have struggled, though, is on third downs. Opponents are converting third downs at a 46.2% clip, the second-highest rate in the league. They’ll have to do a better job containing the likes of Kenneth Walker III, DK Metcalf, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba on third downs if they want to level the series.
Seattle’s defense has been the epitome of mediocre. Most of its metrics rank somewhere in the 12th-18th range. It only adds to the difficulty in predicting these tight divisional battles.
How the Cardinals attack the Seahawks will likely depend on game flow. When leading by seven or more points, they run the ball 60% of the time but only 47% in a neutral game script. Given how well James Conner has played this season, leading the league in evaded-tackle-per-touch rate, the plan should be to lean on their running back.
However, that didn’t quite work two weeks ago when the Seahawks limited Conner to the single worst game of his career, seven carries for eight yards. If they can force Kyler Murray to be one-dimensional again, they should be able to pick up a second win. With that said, these divisional matchups tend to have a way of evening out.
