The Arizona Cardinals are now officially eliminated from postseason play following their 36-30 overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 16.

The loss dropped the Cardinals to 7-8 on the year, and with the Los Angeles Rams’ victory over the New York Jets, Arizona was mathematically eliminated from the NFC playoffs with two weeks to go.

The elimination didn’t immediately come to head coach Jonathan Gannon’s mind, although he stated the following when asked about it:

“For me this is an external factor. The emotion will be: We have to make sure we put our big boy pads on Tuesday and on the rebound and do enough to try to win the game next week. I know they’re down, I know that’s the case.’ If you think about it, ultimately we didn’t do enough. We win together. We’re losing together because of how this season went – and because of that. “It starts with me,” Gannon said after the game.

“This is difficult. It’s a learning process. We have to take a good look in the mirror and improve and get better.”

The Cardinals once sat atop the NFC West at 6-4 despite winning just one game since their bye week.

After a promising start, reality has set in: The Cardinals aren’t quite the team they or much of the fan base expected at this time of year.

“Going forward, we have to control what we can control, and to do that we have to work every day, play football, play the game we love and go out there and try to win,” Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray said.

Offensive tackle Kelvin Beachum resorted to an old-school coach to sum up the loss to Carolina:

“Bill Parcells says this: You are what your record says. For now, our file is what it says on the tin. I won’t try to sugarcoat it. We are what our file says at the moment. ” he said.

Arizona will have a chance to improve its record from 7-8 in its remaining two games against the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers.

But no matter how you slice it, the Cardinals will once again be spectators at the playoff party.