The Arizona Cardinals move into Week 13 with plenty riding on their road test against the Minnesota Vikings.
The Cardinals find themselves in quite a dog fight for a postseason spot moving into this week. After falling to the Seattle Seahawks, the Cardinals slipped into second in the NFC West and temporarily out of NFC postseason positioning.
There’s plenty of football left in the regular season, though Pro Football Focus says the Cardinals have the most at stake in terms of playoff chances – a win propels them to 65% while a loss drops them to 37%.
Division rival Seattle also has odds that can sway drastically, as a win against the New York Jets puts them at 54% while a loss sends them down to 27%.
Arizona and Seattle will see each other at State Farm Stadium in Week 14, though the Cardinals know they can’t get caught looking ahead.
“It’s good, but none of it really matters,” said quarterback Kyler Murray still controlling its own destiny.
“My focus is this weekend. Obviously, we had to flush a tough one that we wish we would’ve gotten to separate, but none of it matters. We have to go out to Minnesota in a hostile environment and find a way to win this one.”
Head coach Jonathan Gannon – who was previously on Minnesota’ staff – knows just how difficult a win on the road will be:
“It’s in a dome and it’s loud. They’ll be packed out and there’ll be no Cardinals fans. There’ll be Vikings fans there and it’s in a dome. I played there for two years. I was there in Minnesota for four years. Two years they were building that stadium, so we were outside at the University of Minnesota. Two years (we) were inside. Great place to play, good environment. It’s a tough place to play,” said Gannon earlier this week.
The season certainly won’t be made or missed at US Bank Stadium, though it’s a big matchup nonetheless for the Cardinals.
