NFL

NFL 2026 · Regular season Week 16

What does Cardinals vs Saints change in the NFL playoff race?

Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

3-6

1:00 PM ET

Scheduled

Saints

New Orleans Saints

3-5

Sun, Dec 27, 2026 · 1:00 PM ET (Dec 28, 03:00 KST)Caesars Superdome, New Orleans

What's at stake

Current standings (137 games played league-wide) plus this one result, recomputed for the 16 NFC teams. Arithmetic, not odds.

Cardinals win

4 more teams

Saints win

  • SaintsNFC #12→#4 seedoutside the top 7→division leaderTragic 9→-
  • CardinalsTragic 5→4
  • PanthersNFC #4→#12 seeddivision leader→outside the top 7Tragic 9→8
  • BuccaneersTragic 8→7
  • FalconsTragic 8→7

Tie

  • SaintsNFC #12→#4 seedoutside the top 7→division leaderTragic 9→-
  • CardinalsNFC #15→#13 seed
  • PanthersNFC #4→#12 seeddivision leader→outside the top 7Magic -→9Division magic -→9
  • BuccaneersNFC #13→#14 seed
  • FalconsNFC #14→#15 seed

Both teams going in

TeamSeedMagicTragicDivision magic
CardinalsNFC #15 seed · 3-615-5-
SaintsNFC #12 seed · 3-512-9-

Magic number = wins left to lock a top-7 seed (division magic: first place); tragic number = losses left until elimination. Ties count against the team in question (official tiebreakers such as head-to-head are not applied; equal records are ordered by BALLDONTLIE seed). How we calculate →

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Sun, Dec 27 game · New Orleans

Local date

See the ground on the Stadium Trip Map →

Team records

Season records as listed by BALLDONTLIE.

New to the NFL?

  • Seed — seven teams per conference (AFC, NFC) make the playoffs. The four division winners take seeds 1–4 whatever their records; the best three of the rest take seeds 5–7.
  • Wild card — seeds 5–7, earned on record without winning the division. Only the No. 1 seed skips the first round (the Wild Card round).
  • Tie — a regular-season game still level after a 10-minute overtime ends as a tie, counted as half a win in winning percentage.
How we calculate →
Cardinals playoff scenarios →Saints playoff scenarios → NFL schedule & results Playoff seeds Magic numbersNFL standings & scenarios →

Game data: BALLDONTLIE. Magic numbers, tragic numbers and seeds are computed by this site.