Elise Carter: "Atlanta came in tied at 4-1 and left looking like they belong nowhere near a playoff conversation—Dalton's 4 interceptions against a Cardinals team that scored 49 points doesn't just lose football games, it ends quarterback tenures."

Arizona dismantled Atlanta 49-21 in week 5, a 28-point margin that came down to turnover management and execution in the passing game. Geno Smith threw 4 touchdowns on 9 of 18 passing for 301 yards while Andy Dalton threw 4 interceptions on 11 of 25 for 307 yards, and the Cardinals' ball security—1 giveaway to Atlanta's 4—proved decisive. Trey McBride caught 3 passes for 156 yards and 3 touchdowns, while the Cardinals ran for 164 yards and controlled a game where Arizona's balanced approach outmatched Atlanta's reliance on the pass.

28-13 to Cardinals, and it went about how it looked. Geno Smith did the damage for Cardinals — 19/26, 355 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT. Blake Corum did the work on the ground for Rams — 6 carries, 74 yards, 1 TD — in a losing effort. Through the air: Cardinals 355, Rams 137.

Cardinals had no answer. Packers took it 52-28. Jordan Love threw for Packers — 18/33, 350 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT. Geno Smith did the damage for Cardinals — 11/24, 219 yards, 3 TD, 5 INT — in a losing effort. Through the air: Packers 350, Cardinals 219.

Riley Parker: "San Francisco got run off the field—Arizona's 225 ground yards to the Niners' 126 says everything about who controlled this thing, and when you're losing by 21 in Week 18, it's because the other team decided what the game was going to be. The Cardinals scored 48 points and it never felt close." Ethan Price: "San Francisco's season ended the way it lived: Purdy completed 22 of 39 while McCaffrey churned for 109 yards, which is to say the Niners had the right pieces and no way to use them. Arizona, meanwhile, walked into the playoffs having scored at will in their last month—Geno Smith's 321 yards and 3 touchdowns the most clinical version of a team that no longer needs to prove anything." Ava Collins: "San Francisco's problem wasn't talent—it was balance. Arizona came in throwing 62% of the time all season and ran 32 times today; the Niners kept force-feeding the pass eve

Arizona dismantled San Francisco 48-27 in Week 18, a rout that belonged entirely to the Cardinals' balanced attack: Geno Smith carved up the secondary for 321 yards and 3 touchdowns while the ground game churned out 225 yards, and Arizona's defense suffocated a 49ers offense that managed only 403 total yards and turned the ball over once. Brock Purdy threw for 277 yards and 2 scores, and Christian McCaffrey delivered 109 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns, but the Niners' piecemeal effort couldn't keep pace. Arizona's disciplinary edge—clean hands, no giveaways—proved decisive in a game where the Cardinals simply dictated terms on both sides of the ball.

Daniel Keller: "Arizona's ground game settled it—156 yards to 69 lets you play loose on defense and take shots downfield, which is what Geno Smith did with 4 touchdowns on 29 attempts, a rhythm the Raiders couldn't match despite Fernando Mendoza's own 4-TD day." Riley Parker: "Arizona just locked the division and a playoff spot by doing the thing it stopped doing all season—running the ball like it mattered. When you hand off 32 times instead of passing 63% of the time, you get to play ahead and let your defense breathe, and that's a completely different team than the one that's been bleeding points all year."

Arizona beat Las Vegas 42-31 in a shootout where both quarterbacks had their best days of the season. Geno Smith went 24 of 29 for 325 yards and 4 touchdowns while Fernando Mendoza matched him with 4 touchdown passes on 24 of 45 completions for 281 yards, but the Cardinals' ground game made the difference at 156 yards to the Raiders' 69. Marvin Harrison Jr. caught 9 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown as Arizona's balanced attack outgained Las Vegas 481 to 350 total yards. The Cardinals improved to 9-7 while the Raiders fell to 7-9.