Division rival does Arizona Cardinals a tremendous favor
By Jim Koch
The Arizona Cardinals and their fans found themselves pulling for the Seattle Seahawks during their rival’s week 16 matchup
Fans of the Arizona Cardinals found themselves in an extremely unfamiliar situation this past Sunday. After all, how many times have the franchise and it’s followers had to hope for a Seattle Seahawks victory? That’s exactly the quandary that the Cards were presented with when Seattle took on the Los Angeles Rams in a pivotal week 16 matchup.
Actually, the Seahawks did Arizona a huge favor by posting a 20-9 triumph over Los Angeles this past weekend. The division rival’s win returned something to Kliff Kingsbury’s squad that they had temporarily lost on Saturday. Something very valuable to a team that’s still trying to get into the postseason with just two contests to play.
With their 20-12 upset defeat to the San Francisco 49ers this past Saturday, the Cardinals forfeited the right to control their own playoff destiny. The loss to the injury-ravaged 49ers club was one that almost no one saw coming. And was one that could’ve been incredibly-costly for the Cards as well.
Heading into Sunday’s slate of games, Arizona needed at least one of two things to happen. The Chicago Bears were hot on the trail of the Cardinals for the NFC’s seventh and final playoff spot. That meant that the Redbirds would be pulling for the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars to somehow register what would’ve been just their second victory of the season.
As we all know by now, that one didn’t even come close to happening. The Bears pounded the Jaguars 41-17, opening up the door for Jacksonville to draft Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence in 2021. With that prize in their sights, you have to wonder if the Jaguars were even trying to emerge victorious this past weekend.
Fortunately, Seattle managed to come through for the Cards. Thanks to our adversary from the Pacific Northwest, all Arizona needs to secure their first postseason appearance in five years is a win over the Rams in week 17. The Seahawks gave them a gift, all the Cardinals have to do now is take advantage of their division foe’s generosity.