re: Just gonna leave this here

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They were in playoff contention until game 16. Why would they?

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With the expanded playoffs this type of thinking should be re-examined a bit. After the Wild Card Weekend it's clear that most teams that were in playoff contention or who barely got into it this year, are nowhere near true playoff teams (Patriots, Eagles, Steelers). The Cardinals were a legit playoff team, don't know what went wrong there, but the point is organizations moving forward need to really know if they're a real contender or if they're backdooring into the playoffs because the NFL has become a participation trophy league by expanded playoffs for the sole purpose of increasing TV revenue.