Week 14 Matchup with Chiefs Could Decide Arizona Cardinals' Playoff Fate

Just a few short weeks ago, the Arizona Cardinals were the toast of the National Football League. The team had a three-game lead in the NFC West and the league's best record at 9-1.

Now, however, anxiety is spreading across the desert like a summer haboob. The Cardinals have lost two straight games, and their lead in the division has been trimmed to a single game.

In fact, if the Redbirds are unable to down the similarly desperate Kansas City Chiefs at University of Phoenix Stadium Sunday, not only are their chances of winning the division in very real trouble, but the Cardinals may not make the playoffs at all.

It isn't hard to trace the source of the Cardinals' recent struggles. The offense has come completely off the rails.

Over the past two games, the Cardinals have managed only a single offensive touchdown, and that score came late in last week's dishearteningly decisive loss in Atlanta.

Some of those offensive struggles have been the result of injuries. Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald has missed the past two games with a sprained MCL in his knee. Running back Andre Ellington suffered a hip injury against the Falcons that will all but certainly sideline him against KC.

However, the biggest problem facing the Cardinals is borne of an older injury.

Over the past two games, quarterback Drew Stanton has looked a lot less like the player who won two of three starts earlier this season and a lot more like an eighth-year career backup with limited talent.

	Comp. %	PYPG	TD	INT	Rating	W-L
First 3 Starts	48.9	176.3	2	0	73.7	2-1
Last 3 Starts	60.8	249.7	3	5	72.7	1-2

Stanton has completed less than 60 percent of his passes over that two-game skid. He's been sacked three times, has thrown three interceptions against only one touchdown and has averaged a moribund 6.8 yards per attempt.

In short, Stanton hasn't played well at all.

As Josh Weinfuss of ESPN reports, despite those recent struggles, head coach Bruce Arians insisted to SiriusXM Radio that there's been no thought of going another direction under center:

"

There's no thought of changing quarterbacks. He's going to take us where we want to go. He's maybe had three or four bad throws in two games. But the quarterback always gets heat. It's just a matter of one high ball and that's about it last week. One was catchable but you bring it down six inches and it's a 25-yard gain. That's how close we were in both those ballgames, but he's more than fine.

"

Of course, when the other directions are rookie Logan Thomas and Ryan Lindley, it isn't hard to see why Arians is reluctant to make a change.

Still, as Weinfuss points out, the Cardinals badly need to get their offense in gear: "Over the last three games, the Cardinals are ranked in the bottom five in the NFL in rushing yards per game and carry, interceptions per attempt, time of possession, points per game and offensive points per game, according to ESPN Stats & Information."

Those numbers sound like a playoff team to you?

Unfortunately, this week's matchup doesn't set up well for an offensive rebound. Whereas the Atlanta Falcons ranked dead last against the pass entering last week's game, the Kansas City Chiefs possess the league's top pass defense, allowing only 196.8 yards per game.

The Chiefs also rank ninth in total defense and eighth in sacks. Their weak spot lies against the run, where Kansas City ranks 30th in the NFL, giving up over 136 yards per game.

The problem is that the Cardinals were having enough trouble moving the ball on the ground with Ellington in the lineup. Now, with rookie Marion Grice and retread Michael Bush (whom the Cardinals only recently signed) leading the way, grinding up yardage on the ground appears a tall task.

Mind you, this isn't to say that all hope is lost. As Weinfuss reports, Fitzgerald has returned to practice and is expected to play this week. According to Arians, Fitz can't get back on the field soon enough.

"Larry brings a ton of passion, and he's also a big playmaker," Arians said. "He'll probably catch a couple of those high balls. He's not dropping the one in Seattle, that's for sure. Jaron [Brown]'s never dropped one, either. But the passion and energy, and an All-Pro player, that's hard to replace."

The Cardinals need that passion and talent, because a loss to the Chiefs would put the Cardinals one step closer to a death spiral that would make the disappointment of missing the playoffs despite a 10-6 record last year look like a pleasant memory.

After the Chiefs, the Cardinals finish the season with three straight NFC West tilts. There's a Thursday night affair on a short turnaround at St. Louis, against a Rams team that has already beaten both of last year's Super Bowl teams in the Gateway City in 2014.

Then comes a home game with the Seattle Seahawks, who just completely shut down the Arizona offense in Week 12. The regular season wraps up with a trip to Santa Clara to face a San Francisco 49ers squad who will either be fighting for a playoff spot of its own or looking to both play spoiler and avenge a Week 3 loss to the Cardinals in Phoenix.

At the risk of sounding like this guy (what in the name of frosted Pop-Tarts is he talking about?), a 9-1 start could wind up a 9-7 finish, with people talking about one of the bigger collapses by an NFL team in recent memory.

The recipe for beating the Chiefs is simple. Ellington or no Ellington, the Cardinals are going to have to attack the Chiefs on the ground, between the tackles. Partly because it's Kansas City's soft spot, and partly because if the last few weeks are any indication, asking Stanton to carry the offense is begging for trouble.

An Arizona defense that matches up well with the run-first (and second, and third) Chiefs needs to shake off last week's miserable performance and get after it. Shut down Jamaal Charles, and you shut down the Chiefs. Given that the Redbirds rank sixth in the NFL in run defense, it's a goal that should be achievable.

The Cardinals have also had more than a little success at home this season. The team is 6-0 at University of Phoenix Stadium, and Stanton has posted a passer rating of over 100 in his home starts in 2014.

Notch win No. 10, and much of the pressure would be alleviated. An 11th win in any one of Arizona's last three games would all but insure at least a wild-card spot, and 10 wins might be enough to get the Cardinals in.

I say "might" because, well, last year and all.

However, fall to the Chiefs, and in many circles anxiety is going to turn to full-on panic, especially if the surging Seahawks down the Eagles in Philadelphia and overtake the Cardinals for first place in the division.

As Arians told The Associated Press (via Fox Sports), it isn't time for a headless chicken act yet in the Valley of the Sun: "There's two pictures—the two-game losing streak and being 9-3. We have to get back to the things that got us to this point. The next one is huge to maintain where we're at. The sky has not fallen yet. We're still No. 1, and we need to stay there this week."

We'll see if he still feels the same way come Sunday evening.

Gary Davenport is an NFL Analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter @IDPManor.