Arizona Cardinals looking to spoil division rival’s season
By Jim Koch
The Arizona Cardinals could destroy the playoffs hopes of a division foe by defeating them in the season finale this weekend
There’s one more game left for the 2017 Arizona Cardinals. It was a year ago that Bruce Arians’ squad finished off a losing campaign by destroying an overmatched Los Angeles Rams team. A contest that meant nothing for either club.
This Sunday’s finale against the Seattle Seahawks has a different feel, however. The Cards’ rival from the Pacific Northwest needs a win and an Atlanta Falcons’ loss or tie to make the playoffs. The Falcons will play host to the Carolina Panthers in a matchup that will be played at the same time as the Cardinals-Seahawks tilt.
The fact that Arizona can play spoiler to Seattle certainly adds intrigue to the meeting. The Cards would love nothing more than to be the reason that the Seahawks are sitting at home when the postseason gets underway. Watching the playoffs (or not) from the living rooms of their homes.
After all, the Cardinals themselves are absent from the tournament for a second-straight year. The ridiculous amount of significant players they’ve placed on injured reserve this season is a big reason why they didn’t get in. Still, as Frostee Rucker pointed out earlier in the week, the tangle with Seattle will be a playoff game of sorts for him and his teammates.
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“Next week is even bigger”, the defensive end remarked just after Arizona shut out the New York Giants last weekend. “Despite the noise and distraction that we’re not going to the playoffs, they (Seattle) are still fighting to get in”. In other words, that’s all the motivation the Cards need to show up and give their best effort at CenturyLink Field this New Year’s Eve.
On the line for head coach Pete Carroll’s bunch is a five-year postseason streak. Not getting in would leave many in Seattle shell-shocked. Rucker and the rest of the Cardinals are on a mission to make sure that feeling is shared by many.
Rucker also made sure to stress that Sunday isn’t only about ruining a division opponent’s New Year’s. “Even with all our injuries, we have a group of guys in there that are fighters”, the veteran told reporters. “I just hope everyone gets a shot to come back (next year)”.
Perhaps a good showing versus the Seahawks will convince Arizona’s front office to take Rucker’s comments into consideration. But only time will tell on that. In the meantime, the Cards have some serious business to take care of on the road this weekend.