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Just one of the two teams that will line up this Saturday at CenturyLink Field will have a chance to improve its positioning in the playoff picture.
The Seahawks (9-4-1), who clinched the NFC West last week, can hold on to the No. 2 seed with wins in their final two regular-season games, or with a little help, clinch it as soon as Monday night. The Cardinals (5-8-1), meanwhile, Seattle's Christmas-Eve foe, had their playoff hopes dashed with a loss last week, and will finish the season with a losing record for the first time since 2012, the year before Bruce Arians took over as head coach.
"It's been a rough year," Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer said Wednesday on a conference call with Seattle-area reporters. "Any time you lose eight times it's a rough year. Nothing's gone our way all year it seems. The games we've been accustomed to winning, unfortunately the ball hasn't bounced our way and we haven't been able to get wins in some of the close games. It's just been kind of one of those years. It's really been a struggle. We've fought hard, we've played hard, just kind of one of the years it seems the call goes the other way, the ball bounces the other way.
"Whatever cliche term you want to use it's just kind of been frustrating and not what we expected."
The Cardinals won the division last year with a record of 13-3 and advanced to the NFC Championship game, but now find themselves readying to play a game while facing the tough reality of knowing the postseason is already out of reach. The difference between last year's successful run and this year's downturn, Arians and Palmer each said, lies in how the team fared in close games. This season, Arizona has gone 3-3-1 in games where it has entered the final quarter leading or trailing by a score or tied, compared to a 5-2 record in those same situations last season. After starting the season 3-3 and playing to a 6-6 tie with the Seahawks at Arizona in Week 7, the Cardinals have gone 2-5 in their last seven games to fall out of playoff contention.
"We've lost the close ones," Arians said. "We had three games on field goals that we didn't make, didn't close out a game when we had it won and lost it. So we've been losing the close ones at the end where we've won them in the past."
Said Palmer: "It seems like the same things have bitten us in the butt, so to speak, just one after another. So really nothing's changed all year. From the first game, season-opener we have a chance to win at the end with a field goal and we end up losing that one, and obviously what happened with the Seahawks at home when we had a chance inside the 5-yard-line and don't get away with a win there. It's just been an odd year for us."
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That absence of playoff implications doesn't necessarily mean Arizona will come into the Pacific Northwest lacking motivation to finish the season strong. Arians said his team remains enthusiastic and has "practiced really hard last week and this week," while Palmer called it a "silver lining" that the Cardinals will play their final two games of the year on the road in difficult environments against division opponents.
"We're excited about that," Palmer said of closing the year with games against the Seahawks and Rams. "We still have a lot to play for when you consider the amount of pride that's on the line. So that's what we're playing for right now."
Then there's also the fact that the Cardinals have had success against the Seahawks at home in recent seasons, with Arizona winning two of the past three at CenturyLink Field, including a 39-32 victory the last time the two teams met in Seattle. Palmer, as well as wideout Larry Fitzgerald — as noted in the tweet above, labeled Seattle "their favorite place to play" in the NFL, and will look to spoil the Seahawks' perfect home record this weekend.
"It's obviously by far the most difficult place to play, but there's just so much energy and such a great energy in that stadium," Palmer said. "The fanbase is just spectacular and it's a beautiful stadium. I think it's so cool how it's sitting down there on the water downtown. There's just so much electricity in that stadium, and we enjoy that.
"No doubt it's difficult. There's going to be some offsides and there's going to be some penalties, there's going to be some bad plays because that's what that kind of environment creates, but we really look forward to playing there and we're excited to do it this Saturday."
Get to know the faces of the Arizona Cardinals' offensive and defensive units heading into the team's Week 16 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field.
Arizona Cardinals defensive back Tyrann Mathieu (32) during an NFL game against the New York Jets on Monday, Oct. 17, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. The Cardinals won the game, 28-3. (Greg Trott via AP)
Arizona Cardinals defensive back Tony Jefferson (22) rests during an NFL game against the New York Jets on Monday, Oct. 17, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. The Cardinals won the game, 28-3. (Greg Trott via AP)
Arizona Cardinals defensive back Patrick Peterson (21) pumps his fist as the seconds wind down during an NFL game against the New York Jets on Monday, Oct. 17, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. The Cardinals won the game, 28-3. (Greg Trott via AP)
Arizona Cardinals defensive back D.J. Swearinger (36) looks up from the sideline with his helmet off during a preseason NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Thursday, September 1, 2016 in Glendale, Ariz.. The Cardinals won the game 38-17. (Paul Jasienski via AP)
Arizona Cardinals defensive back Marcus Cooper (41) waits for the snap during an NFL game against the New York Jets on Monday, Oct. 17, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. The Cardinals won the game, 28-3. (Greg Trott via AP)
Arizona Cardinals linebacker Kevin Minter (51) gets pumped up during an NFL game against the New York Jets on Monday, Oct. 17, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. The Cardinals won the game, 28-3. (Greg Trott via AP)
Arizona Cardinals linebacker Chandler Jones (55) rests during an NFL game against the New York Jets on Monday, Oct. 17, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. The Cardinals won the game, 28-3. (Greg Trott via AP)
Arizona Cardinals defensive end Frostee Rucker (92) looks on from the sideline during the NFL NFC Divisional round playoff football game against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016 in Glendale, Ariz. The Cardinals won the game in overtime 26-20. (Paul Spinelli via AP)
Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Corey Peters (98) during a preseason NFL football game against the San Diego Chargers, Friday, Aug. 19, 2016, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Arizona Cardinals defensive end Calais Campbell (93) prior to an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Monday, Oct. 17, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Arizona Cardinals tight end Jermaine Gresham (84) during the NFL preseason football game against the Houston Texans on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016 in Houston. The Texans won, 34-24. (Ric Tapia via AP)
Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson (31) smiles after an NFL game against the New York Jets on Monday, Oct. 17, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. The Cardinals won the game, 28-3. (Greg Trott via AP)
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer (3) waves to the crowd after an NFL game against the New York Jets on Monday, Oct. 17, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. The Cardinals won the game, 28-3. (Greg Trott via AP)
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver John Brown (12) looks up from the sideline with his helmet off during a NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, October 2, 2016 in Glendale, Ariz.. The Rams won the game 17-13. (Paul Jasienski via AP)
Arizona Cardinals tight end Darren Fells (85) warms up during an NFL game against the New York Jets on Monday, Oct. 17, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. The Cardinals won the game, 28-3. (Greg Trott via AP)
Arizona Cardinals guard Earl Watford (78) looks on from the sidelines as he watches the action on the playing field during a week 2 NFL football game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, September 20, 2015 in Chicago. The Cardinals defeated the Bears 48-23. (Scott Boehm via AP)
Arizona Cardinals center A.Q. Shipley (53) during an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Mike Iupati looks on from the sideline during the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Oakland Raiders, Friday, Aug. 12, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso)
Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle John Wetzel (73) during an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Arizona Cardinals center Taylor Boggs (65) during the first half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver J.J. Nelson (14) during an NFL football game against the Washington Redskins, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (11) rests during an NFL game against the New York Jets on Monday, Oct. 17, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. The Cardinals won the game, 28-3. (Greg Trott via AP)
Arizona Cardinals kicker Chandler Catanzaro (7) during an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Arizona Cardinals punter Matt Wile (6) during the first half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Arizona Cardinals long snapper Aaron Brewer (46) prior to an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Monday, Oct. 17, 2016, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
