NFC West title is still the goal for the Arizona Cardinals

Despite a three-game losing streak, the Arizona Cardinals can still rally over the last two weeks and win the NFC West division.

For the better part of the 2021 NFL campaign, the Arizona Cardinals have been perched at the top of the National Football Conference’s Western division.

An ill-timed three-game losing streak has occurred, however, and the Cardinals (10-5) now sit one game behind the Los Angeles Rams (11-4) with only two matchups remaining. While capturing the NFC West title looks bleak at the moment, that goal remains a possibility for head coach Kliff Kingsbury‘s squad.

There are a couple of scenarios that could deliver the Cards their first division championship since 2015. However, the club will need outside help as well to make that come to fruition.

An NFC West title for the Arizona Cardinals in 2021 remains a possibility

Arizona will play the first of their final two contests this coming Sunday when they go on the road to take on the Dallas Cowboys. The team will finish the year on January 9, when they meet the Seattle Seahawks at State Farm Stadium.

Los Angeles will have to fly cross-country this coming weekend to take on an 8-7 Baltimore Ravens team that still has a shot at the AFC North division crown. The biggest question mark is Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is questionable to play after missing the last couple of games with an ankle injury. A return to action by Jackson would obviously make winning for the Rams a much more difficult task.

The surging Rams will finish the campaign with a home date against the San Francisco 49ers. At the moment, the division-rival Niners still have a shot at grabbing one of the NFC’s three wild-card spots. Even if head coach Kyle Shanahan’s crew is eliminated from the playoffs at that point, there’s a chance that the squad would take pleasure in handing Los Angeles a potentially devastating defeat on the NFL’s final Sunday.

If the Cardinals win their final two games and the Rams lose both of their matchups, “Big Red” would take the NFC West thanks to a better overall record (12-5 to 11-6).

There’s another scenario that would also allow the Cards to finish first in the division. Two Arizona victories, combined with a Rams loss to the 49ers in Week 18, would also do the trick. Both franchises would end up with the same record (12-5), but the Cardinals would be awarded the NFC West thanks to a better division mark (5-1 to 3-3).

Despite three consecutive poor performances, a division championship is still within Arizona’s reach. As far-fetched as that may sound, stranger things have happened. One thing’s for certain, the Cards will have to play a whole lot better than they have in recent weeks to accomplish that feat.