The 2014 NFL season is winding down, and as usual, it has its annual drama to look forward to in the final month of December.

The best team in all of football for the first 10 weeks looked to be the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals jumped out to a terrific 9-1 start with notable victories over the San Francisco 49ers, San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys. However, the last two weeks have resulted in losses to the Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons.

Of course 9-3 is still a great record in this league, but a two-game losing streak combined with significant injuries has a lot of Cardinals fans worried.

The most significant injury is obviously to starting quarterback Carson Palmer. The former No. 1 overall draft pick is out for the season after he tore his ACL against the St. Louis Rams. Since then, backup quarterback Drew Stanton has taken over full time and the Cardinals are 1-2 in those games.

In Palmer's six starts, he had a perfect 6-0 record with 11 touchdowns and three interceptions. Stanton has started six games this season but has thrown six touchdowns and five interceptions. Stanton is clearly not as polished as Palmer, but he will have to improve his play going forward.

Two other injuries that may prohibit the Cardinals from wining the NFC West are Larry Fitzgerald and Tyrann Mathieu. Fitzgerald is still an elite wide receiver in this league, but he has missed the last two games because of a knee injury. Safety Tyrann Mathieu has a thumb injury. According to multiple sources, Mathieu will have surgery on his fractured thumb and is expected to miss at least three weeks.

Fitzgerald leads the Cardinals in receiving yards this season with 658.

Outside of injuries, the Cardinals pass defense has been disappointing this season. Cornerback Patrick Peterson hasn't been playing like himself, and the Cardinals pass defense now ranks 27th overall in passing yards allowed. Last week the Cardinals allowed 500 total yards against the 4-7 Atlanta Falcons led by quarterback Matt Ryan.

The Cardinals biggest issue this season has been running the football. The Cardinals currently rank 31st overall in rushing yards and 23rd in rushing touchdowns, which is terrible because it puts so much pressure on a backup quarterback to make plays. This team has just one player with more than 85 rushing yards, Andre Ellington. To make matters worse, Ellington is battling a hip injury, and his status for Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs is listed as questionable.

If Ellington is unable to go, the Cardinals offense (which ranks 23rd) could be in for a lot of trouble against the Chiefs.

Another factor to remember is the schedule. December doesn't paint a pretty picture for the Cardinals. The Cardinals have to face four more opponents, three of which have a winning record. The Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers are both currently 7-5. The Cardinals also have to play the 8-4 Seattle Seahawks in Week 16. Even playing the St. Louis Rams won't be an easy contest in Week 15 on the road.

At 9-3, the Cardinals shouldn't panic. They still control their own destiny as long as they win their division games and protect the football. Limiting deep passes defensively is critical as well. Only time will tell if the Cardinals will make their first postseason appearance since 2009.

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