GLENDALE, Ariz. — One thing is certain. In two weeks, the Arizona Cardinals will play their 1st playoff game since 2016 as part of the NFL's 'Super Wild Card Weekend.'
However... when, where, and who the Cardinals will play is all still up in the air.
Here are the possibilities of where and who they could play.
The most likely scenario for the Cardinals is that they end up on the road, as the NFC's 5th seed, which goes to the non-division champion with the best record.
The Cardinals will be the #5 seed if the Los Angeles Rams beat the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, which would clinch the NFC West title for LA.
If the Cardinals do end up as the #5 seed, the most likely scenario for them is their 2nd trip to Arlington, Texas, in three weeks to take on the Dallas Cowboys, who would be the NFC's #4 seed.
A Twitter user put together a graphic showing all of the seeding possibilities in the NFC, and in 7 of the 9 scenarios, the Cardinals ended up as the #5 seed. in 5 of those 7 scenarios, the Cardinals get a trip to Texas.
The Cardinals could get the #5 seed and play the Rams at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood if the Cardinals lose to the Seattle Seahawks, the Rams lose to San Francisco, Tampa Bay beats Carolina and Dallas beats Philadelphia this weekend. In this case, the Rams would be the #4 seed.
The Cardinals could get the #5 seed and play Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers if the Cardinals lose to Seattle, San Francisco beats LA, Carolina beats Tampa Bay and Dallas beats Philadelphia. In this case, Tampa Bay would be the #4 seed.
But wait, there's more!
The Cardinals are still alive in the race for the NFC West title. They will win the division and get a home playoff game if the Rams lose to San Francisco and the Cardinals beat Seattle.
In this case, if Carolina beats Tampa Bay, the Cardinals would get the #2 seed and host the Philadelphia Eagles at State Farm Stadium.
If Tampa Bay beats Carolina, the Cardinals would get the #3 seed and host the San Francisco 49ers.
The date and time of the Cardinals' playoff game, no matter where it is, will be determined at the end of Week 18 when all of the matchups are known.
The NFL's 'Super Wild Card Weekend' will spread the six Wild Card playoff games over 3 days from January 15-17.
There will be two games on Saturday, three on Sunday, and then one game on Monday night.
The Saturday games will be played at 2:35 p.m. MT and 6:15 p.m. MT. The channel for each of these games has not been announced.
The Sunday games will be played at 11:05 a.m. MT, 2:40 p.m. MT and 6:15 p.m. MT. The channel for these games has also not been announced.
The Monday game will be at 6:15 MT and will be broadcast on ESPN.