TEMPE, Ariz. -- Sunday's 30-17 over the New England Patriots reaffirmed one thing for the Arizona Cardinals: There's still a chance at making the playoffs.
The Cardinals' best chance is by winning the NFC West, as they sit one game behind the 8-6 Seattle Seahawks, who lost their division lead after losing to the Green Bay Packers in Week 15, and the Los Angeles Rams.
Arizona (7-7), which has a 12.6% chance of making the postseason and 12.3% of winning the NFC West according to ESPN's Football Power Index, headed into the Patriots game with an 8.5% chance of making the playoffs. The team will try to get above .500 and put pressure on the division with a win against the Carolina Panthers (1 p.m. ET, Fox) on Sunday.
The simplest scenario is that Arizona wins out and both the Rams and Seahawks lose at least two of their next three. Los Angeles ends the season against the New York Jets, Cardinals and Seahawks, while Seattle faces the Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Rams.
Los Angeles has a 53.1% chance of making the playoffs and a 52.5% chance of winning the division while Seattle has a 36.8% chance of making the postseason and a 35.2% chance of taking the West. The San Francisco 49ers, who are one game behind the Cardinals at 6-8, have a 0.2% chance of making the playoffs and a 0.1% chance of winning the division.
Arizona could still win the division if it ends the season tied with Seattle and Los Angeles at 10-7. And if the season ends with the Cardinals and Rams tied at 10-7, then Arizona would win the West.
Should the Cardinals finish 10-7, they'd need two of four potential scenarios to play out, according to ESPN Research: The Atlanta Falcons lose at least once, Seahawks lose at least twice, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lose at least twice and the Washington Commanders lose out.
The Cardinals could win the division at 9-8 but one of their two wins would need to be over the Rams in Week 17. The Rams would also need to lose against the Jets and the Seahawks would need to lose their remaining games.
Another way Arizona can make the playoffs is with one of the NFC wild card spots, most likely the seventh seed. In that scenario, the Commanders would have to lose out while the Seahawks and Cardinals would have to win the rest of their schedule.
However, all of the scenarios and projections could be for naught if the Cardinals lose to Carolina and the Rams win in Week 16. Arizona has a 73.6% chance to beat the Panthers, according to ESPN Analytics. However, the Cardinals have a 46.7% chance to beat the Rams and a 46.2% chance to beat the 49ers.
Quarterback Kyler Murray said after Sunday's game that he isn't thinking about what's coming up or what has to happen.
"I'm really not even looking forward," Murray said after Sunday's game. "I'm not looking forward. Today was the focus. It's got to be that way. It's got to be that way. Otherwise, I don't even want to look forward to it.
"Obviously, we took care of business today. Go back and watch the tape and then get ready for the Panthers."
Heading into their bye in Week 11, the Cardinals' path to the playoffs was as easy as it could get: Win and they were in. Arizona was in first place in the NFC West in mid-November and then lost three straight out of the bye -- including two to the Seahawks -- to fall into a tie for last place in the division. However, Arizona's win Sunday coupled with the 49ers loss to the Rams have put Arizona firmly in third place.
One of Arizona's goals this season was to play meaningful football in December -- and it is. And while coach Jonathan Gannon has said the games this time of year are just as important as those in September and October, there's more attention on the homestretch and how each affects the next.
But the Cardinals, some of whom have admitted that they keep an eye on the standings, are insistent that they're focused on one game at a time starting with the next one.
"We'll just reset ourselves," Gannon said. "We know we got a two-day trip going to Carolina and they play hard, they're well coached, so we're going to have to do what we need to do throughout the week. ... They know the challenge ahead of them and they're ready for it."