The unbeaten Arizona Cardinals and once-beaten Green Bay Packers meet in one of the most anticipated Thursday night games in recent memory (8:20 p.m. ET, Fox).
But come Friday morning, there still might not be a clear-cut favorite in the NFC.
As the NFL nears the halfway point of its first 17-game season, the NFC features one unbeaten team and four with one loss. The Cardinals, Packers, Rams, Buccaneers and Cowboys have a combined record of 30-4. Meanwhile, everyone in the AFC has at least two losses.
Even if the Cardinals (7-0) beat the Packers (6-1), they could still have several teams within a game of them at week’s end. And if the Packers win, the top of the NFC will get even tighter as the calendar turns to November. The challenge facing the Packers became greater this week as wide receivers Davante Adams and Allen Lazard were put on the reserve/COVID-19 list, which means that unless Marquez Valdes-Scantling can come off injured reserve — he’s missed the last four games with a hamstring injury — the Packers could be without their top three wideouts. Green Bay did activate receiver Malik Taylor, who had been on the COVID list since Oct. 15.
The Cardinals remain unbeaten and matched their best start in franchise history (7-0 in 1974).
They take on the 6-1 Packers on Thursday. It will be the best combined win percentage for a Thursday game in October or later in the Super Bowl era (since 1966). pic.twitter.com/qhYmgUCna7
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 25, 2021
It’s only the third prime-time matchup in NFL history between two teams riding winning streaks of six or more games in that season. It’s also just the third game with a reigning NFL MVP (Aaron Rodgers) against a team that’s 7-0 or better. The last such matchup also involved Rodgers and the Packers, who played the 7-0 Carolina Panthers in Week 8 of the 2015 season. Carolina won and ultimately reached the Super Bowl.
Here’s a look at the five NFC teams with one loss or fewer and their chances to…
Source : espn
