In the aftermath of Minnesota’s surprising Sunday night loss, we mentioned that the Vikings now had to worry about maintaining the second seed in the NFC over Philadelphia.
We should have mentioned the Cardinals, too.
Okay, so it’s an extreme long shot that Arizona passes Philadelphia and Minnesota for the two seed. But it is possible, and that could alter how the Cardinals approach their Week Seventeen game against Green Bay.
“The No. 2 seed is obviously a powerful incentive, to be able to get that bye week,” Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said this week. “Who knows what can happen?”
Arizona will be playing all their starters four quarters Sunday against the Rams. The Cardinals need to beat St. Louis and have Minnesota lose in Chicago to stay alive for a bye.
While Jay Cutler’s recent play makes that scenario unlikely, the Vikings are only 2-3 outdoors this year.
Vikings fans should look at the bright side.
Win this week, and Minnesota inches closer to a bye. Lose, and the Packers have a tougher matchup in what could be a do-or-die season finale.