The 49ers defeated the Cardinals in San Francisco Sunday 20-17. The Cardinals wrap up their regular season at 11 and 5.
The number five seed Cardinals missed the NFC West title as defending Super Bowl champion Seattle beat St. Louis to win the division and the overall top seed.
Coach Ariens said despite the setback, the Cardinals are optimistic going into post-season play.
“This whole season is over. Now it’s a whole new one. It’s zero-zero and we’re in the tournament. We’ve got a short week and we’ll be at the office Tuesday ready to roll for this playoff game, but we don’t plan on being one and done,” Ariens said.
He said he’s hopeful backup quarterback Drew Stanton should return next week from a sprained right knee that got infected.
The Cardinals have played the last two games with their reserve quarterbacks, Ryan Lindley and Logan Thomas.