The Cardinals only needed 16 games to go their way to get into the NFL playoffs. They didn’t

It doesn’t really feel fair that the Arizona Cardinals are now in the ranks of the officially eliminated.

The 3-8-1 Cardinals have a better record than a handful of teams, and were competitive in tough matchups, including one-score losses to the Ravens and 49ers. Kyler Murray is quietly putting together a fantastic rookie season and the future looks bright in the desert.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, their chances are toast because they’re in the NFC West. Even if Arizona wins out to get to 7-8-1, that’s not nearly enough to catch the 49ers, who are 10-2. Seven wins for the Cardinals also won’t be enough for the wild card with the Vikings, Packers, and Seahawks already out of reach.

Minnesota and Green Bay are vying for the NFC North title, and there’s a race between Seattle and San Francisco for the NFC West. All that was left was to hope either the Vikings or the Packers lose out, and the Cardinals pick one off. They also needed middling teams in the NFC to not seize the opportunity to scoop up a spot in the postseason.

It was going to take a miracle for Arizona to get in, but it ended in Week 13 when the Rams destroyed Arizona, 34-7. All we have now is what could’ve been.

Minnesota or Green Bay needed to lose out to get the Cardinals in the playoffs. It didn’t matter which one, but a Week 16 meeting that’ll likely decide the NFC North meant the two teams couldn’t both finish with eight losses.

The Packers have an easy schedule to finish the season, including a Week 14 games against Washington. So let’s imagine it was the Vikings who bottomed out instead. Minnesota ends the season with the Seahawks, Lions, Chargers, Packers, and Bears.

If that somehow happened and the Cardinals managed to win five straight, Arizona would’ve still needed the Rams, Eagles, Bears, Panthers, and Buccaneers to slip up. That gives us an 16-game scenario that looks a little something like this:

... and voilà! We would’ve gotten Murray and coach Kliff Kingsbury making offensive magic in January.

There was a little flexibility to the scenario. The Rams, Eagles, Bears, Panthers, and Buccaneers didn’t have to lose those specific games. Those matchups just seemed like the most likely missteps for each.

The most important part was the Cardinals couldn’t lose another game and the Vikings (or maybe the Packers) can’t win at all. Unfortunately, that plan went down quickly.