The Arizona Cardinals were unable to bring a win home for Christmas as they lost 27-16 to the Chicago Bears. However, when it comes to draft status, they were gifted a couple of helpful things.
They almost had three great gifts.
The Cardinals are now 3-12. The moved up a spot in the NFL draft order to No. 2 overall because the New England Patriots, on a last-second field goal, beat the Denver Broncos 26-23.
The Patriots were ahead of them but are now 4-11.
The Cleveland Browns beat the Houston Texans 36-22, which is beneficial to the Cardinals because they own the Texans’ first-round selection in the 2024 draft.
The almost gift was by the Washington Commanders. They have four wins and almost distanced themselves by two games against the New York Jets. They rallied back from down 20-0 to take a 28-27 lead with 4:52 to go, but the Jets kicked a 54-yard field goal with five seconds remaining in the game to win 30-28.
A win by the Commanders coupled with the Cardinals’ loss would have almost guaranteed the Cardinals would select no lower than third overall.
But as Week 16 concludes, they sit with the No. 2 pick in the draft thanks to some holiday help from the Browns and the Pats.
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