The Arizona Cardinals are preparing to step into the strength of the NFC West Division and attempt to upset a lot of fans and stable franchises. The Cardinals will have to learn a new offense and become the Los Angeles Rams 2.0 and mirror the San Francisco 49ers.
How much this Cardinals’ offense will improve will come out of training camp. There have been plenty of high-level signings and improvements to the roster for this year.
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The team instantly got some
juice from the hire of Mike LaFleur away from the Rams’ offensive unit, which ended up ranked #1 on offense in the league in 2025. LaFleur now gets a chance at topping those mentors and carving out his own legacy.
Week 2 at home versus the Seattle Seahawks
Last year, in the first matchup of their two-game series, Seattle dominated the Cardinals at State Farm Stadium and built a two-touchdown lead. The offense woke up and scored on its final two possessions.
An 11-play drive that took just 3:43 of game clock resulted in a 16-yard touchdown pass to WR Marv Harrison from Kyler Murray with 5:50 remaining. The Seahawks then missed a field goal as Arizona got the ball back with 3:16 left in the game. A 12-play drive then saw a short seven-yard pass from Murray to RB Emari Demercado, and suddenly the game was tied 20-20 with just 28 ticks left in the game.
The TV announcers began a dialogue regarding the rules of overtime as Cardinals’ kicker Chad Ryland kicked it short, which gave Seattle the ball at their own 40-yard line. An incomplete pass only took off five seconds. Seattle receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba beat Max Melton for 22 yards to the Arizona 38. A four-yard run set up a 52-yard field goal attempt, which was converted for the win.
Should the Cardinals have won the game? That is unknown, but they should have at least had an opportunity to win the game in overtime. One missed assignment and a soft defense allowed Seattle to win uncontested, and then helped them get the Number 1 seed on their way to a Super Bowl win.
A comeback win would have been a huge moment in last year’s schedule. Were the Seahawks a better team? Absolutely. But for one moment, the Cardinals offense was hot and had the momentum going into an extra period of play. Instead, the team became 2-2-0 instead of 3-1-0.
This game will feature Notre Dame rookie running backs in Jeremiyah Love (Arizona) and Jadarian Price (Seattle), both taken in Round 1 of this year’s NFL draft. Early in the year, against an excellent team, will tell everyone exactly what type of roster the Cardinals actually have this year.
Week 3 away against the San Francisco 49ers
The Cardinals began 2-0-0 in 2025. They then traveled to meet division foe, San Fran. Harrison dropped a sure TD pass, which would have won the game. A safety with 3:15 remaining gave Arizona a 15-13 lead, plus the ball. A nine-yard run by Murray, followed by five yards from Trey Benson and a one-yard gain by Murray.
Third-and-nine. Murray hit Zay Jones on a leaping reception just past the sticks. As Jones was coming down, he mishandled the grip, which dislodged the football once he landed. A completion would have ended the game. The end result with 1:54 left was a punt instead of three consecutive kneel-downs.
The 49ers started at their own 20-yard line and went bip, bip, bip, field goal to win. A victory would have started the year 3-0-0. Instead, he began a bad habit of leading seven games late in the fourth quarter only to lose.
The Cardinals want redemption for this loss. They will have that opportunity in the third game on the road, just like last season.
Week 6 away against the Los Angeles Rams
The Rams are a really good team, and the Cardinals will need an almost perfect outing to stay close on the scoreboard, much less get a win.
But it’s the first contest for new head coach Mike LaFleur against this old team. The typical master vs. apprentice battle. Los Angeles had the league’s #1-ranked offensive group for a reason, and LaFleur was just a portion of that success. For better or worse, folks always remember their first time against whatever they are facing.
Week 8 away against the Dallas Cowboys
If you pick one game from last season that was a complete game, it was the Cardinals’ 27-17 victory over the Cowboys in Week 9. Every player for Arizona on both sides of the ball, plus on special teams, was clicking. QB Jacoby Brissett got almost 300 passing yards, and Harrison was just four yards shy of another 100-yard game. The Cardinals’ defense had five sacks, two fumble recoveries, plus an interception as neither of Dallas’ high-powered receivers went over the 100-yard threshold.
Arizona built a 24-7 lead at one point. The Cardinals have beaten the Cowboys in the last four matches dating back to 2020, and eight out of the last 10 games. Can the Cardinals carry on with this ascendancy? Should be a fun game to watch. Maybe their dominance over Dallas is the reason Arizona never gets invited to play on Thanksgiving Day, eh?
Week 16 away against the New Orleans Saints
The Cardinals’ bye week is pretty late in the season this year, during Week 14. Most players and coaches prefer it around Week 8 or 9 to break up the season into halves.
If Arizona can piece together a decent win-loss record going into the bye week, the schedule is very favorable with the final four games. The club gets three of the final four games at home against the New York Jets, the 49ers, and the Las Vegas Raiders. Neither the Raiders nor the Jets is expected to improve much this year, and perhaps Arizona will finally be favored in those games. San Fran will again be a good team, but their window for contending is quickly closing.
Sandwiched in between the Jets and the Raiders are the Saints. Despite not being very good last year, they did improve down the stretch and won four of the final five games.
New Orleans will have a much-improved offense and had the #13 passing attack last year. A win here just might become the catalyst for Arizona to grab momentum and close out the year with a four-pack of wins.
