Cardinals Officially Eliminated From Playoff Contention
Although very slim, the Arizona Cardinals still held a small mathematical chance of sneaking into the postseason for a second consecutive year.
Heading into Week 15, the following scenarios would have put the Cardinals away for good:
ARI LOSS TO DEN
OR
ARI TIE + SEA LOSS OR TIE
OR
ARI TIE + NYG/WAS TIE
OR
SEA WIN + WAS OR NYG WIN
After officially being eliminated from postseason contention, Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury will feel the pressure to close the season out strong.
With the Seahawks losing, the Cardinals still held their own fate heading into their road meeting with the Denver Broncos. A tie wouldn't cut it, as it was officially win or bust moving forward.
Eventually going down to third-string QB Trace McSorley after Colt McCoy left with a concussion, the Cardinals were unable to make good on their late push, falling to the Broncos 24-15.
The Cardinals will now have missed the playoffs the last six-of-seven years. Extending further, the team has won just one playoff game since 2010.
Dating back to the early stages of the offseason, adversity has struck the Cardinals both on and off the field.
"I've been really appreciative of the guys' effort [and] professionalism. It's just been a lot to overcome at times, and then we can't compound it with some of the mistakes we've had. So it's been the perfect storm at times to kind of get us where we're at. But they continue to show up and play hard and work hard, and that's all you can ask with the group we have," said Kliff Kingsbury after the game.
The Cardinals held a 37% chance to make the postseason on FiveThirtyEight before the regular season began. After ten weeks of play, that percentage dropped to 10%.
Arizona has currently lost four games in a row, including their last six-of-seven. The Cardinals haven't won consecutive games all season.
They return home in Week 16 to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Christmas.
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