When the 7th playoff spot was introduced I immediately thought of teams like the Arizona Cardinals. Teams that might be the third-best in their division, but the division is good enough that it might allow them to be the 7th team in the playoffs. Can that be true for the Cardinals in 2020? After a glance at their schedule, I would say a gentleman's no.

It's not that I'm slamming the door on progress here, but opening and closing the season against division rivals on the road, playing Seattle twice on short rest and facing Dallas on the road doesn't help.

Beyond that, there are some wins to be had in the 8th toughest schedule in the NFL compared to last seasons win totals.

Washington, Detroit, Carolina, all the teams from New York and Miami seem ripe for the taking. That's six wins. If they can lock those in and win two in the division that gets them to eight and dead square in the hunt for the playoffs. The Cardinals will likely need a ninth win to solidify their resume, but it's not crazy to think they get 3 wins in the division by splitting with everyone. Who's to say New England is still good with Jarrett Stidham at the helm? Or that Mike McCarthy makes any difference for the Cowboys.

I'd say it's unlikely that the Cardinals make the playoffs, but if the 14 team format had been around since 10 of those 7 seeds would have had an 8 win season. So don't write off Kingsbury and the Cardinals just yet.