The Seattle Seahawks finished the 2025 season an NFL-best 14-3, claiming the NFC West division title, a first-round bye, and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. The Seahawks capitalized on those advantages by winning Super Bowl 60. Now, they’re back in 2026 to defend their crowns.
The NFC West figures to be incredibly competitive again. Both the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers finished with 12 regular-season wins, slightly behind the Seahawks en route to the playoffs. The Seahawks eliminated both the Rams and 49ers from the postseason.
And then you have the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals finished tied with an NFL-worst record of 3-14 in 2025. They head into 2026 with a first-year head coach in Mike LaFleur and appear to be in full-blown rebuild mode.
Pro Football Focus recently ranked every last-place team’s chance to go from worst to first across all eight NFL divisions. Unsurprisingly, the Cardinals rank dead-last, even behind teams like the Las Vegas Raiders, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, and New York Jets (and Giants).
“Pair a roster with tons of question marks with perhaps the NFL’s best division, and it’s tough to see a reality in which the Cardinals could go worst-to-first,” Bradley Locker wrote. “Perhaps new head coach Mike LaFleur will infuse life and get the Cardinals closer to .500 than expected. Yet facing off against the Rams, Seahawks and 49ers six total times doesn’t bode amazingly.”
The Seahawks are prepping for another competitive season in the NFC West, but the Cardinals aren’t a team they have to worry about.
This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: NFC West: Cardinals have virtually no chance to go from worst to first