At the conclusion of the 2025 NFL season, four teams ended up with 3-14-0 records: the Tennessee Titans, New York Jets, Las Vegas Raiders, and the Arizona Cardinals. As a franchise, the Cardinals set a new team record for the most losses in a single season.
When the NFL draft was slotted, the Raiders had the first overall pick, followed by the Jets, Cardinals, and then the Titans.
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Heading into the 2026 schedule, the norm is that last-place teams in each division end
up playing each other the following year, and that the worst teams have the easiest schedules going forward. The Cardinals finished 0-6 in the division, meaning they will have a last-place schedule.
This year’s opponents for both home and away games are already known. With 17 games, Arizona will have nine home games instead of eight. What is already revealed is that the team will play the AFC West and the NFC East this year.
The home games will be against their NFC West mates, the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, and league champs Seattle Seahawks. Arizona will also host the Denver Broncos, the Raiders, the Jets, the Detroit Lions, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Washington Commanders.
Away games include the Rams/49ers/Seahawks, plus the New York Football Giants, Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Chargers, and Kansas City Chiefs.
With the last-place divisional finishes, the Cardinals are pitted against the Jets, Lions, Raiders, Saints, and Giants. Oddly enough, the Lions finished 9-8-0 and yet ended in the basement of the NFC North Division.
The last-place division teams Arizona isn’t playing are the Cleveland Browns and Titans.
Which means their schedule should be against the lesser competition from the previous year, which should be helpful and make the journey easier.
Now comes the bad part.
Overall, the Cardinals have the most difficult agenda based on the strength of schedule. The five hardest schedules based on win-losses from the 2025 season:
From easiest to most difficult:
#1: Lions (last place NFC North)
#2: Saints (last place NFC South)
#3: Cincinnati Bengals
#4: Browns (last place AFC North)
#5: Jets (last place AFC East)
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#28: Rams
#29: Cowboys
#30: Carolina Panthers
#31: Miami Dolphins
#32: Cardinals
Yeah. How did that happen?
This year’s most difficult schedule? After losing 14 games? What?
On the flip side, should there be that much attention on the actual strength of the schedule? Each new season, several teams come seemingly from nowhere to have great seasons. Look at the New England Patriots this past season, going from 4-13-0 to a complete flip of 14-3-0 and a trip to the Super Bowl. They went from dead last in the AFC East to winning the division.
Part of the Cardinals’ issue with this year’s strength of schedule is based on the fact that three of the four clubs in their division all went to the playoffs. That means each team had a great season.
That fact alone comprises 35% of Arizona’s total games:
- Seattle: 14-3-0
- Rams: 12-5-0
- 49ers: 12-5-0
League-wide parity is a real thing. So are annual injuries, and the uncertainty of this nature. Maybe there isn’t that much value in strength of schedule. Or is there?
It is an NFL tradition to assist the lower third of the league as much as the league can. They can’t draft for teams or offer the best information on what free agents to sign. What the NFL can do is to give the worst teams the better draft pick slots, and to offer a schedule the following season that will help them be in a position to play some lesser rosters, which hopefully will translate into more wins.
The league wants all teams to do well on the field, which transfers more funding. Is it lucky to end up in last place in your division’s standings? Of course not. But when clubs are down, there are situations in place to assist the downtrodden in attempting to get out of the cellar.
So, what is Vegas saying about what to expect from the Cardinals?
Over 4.5 wins: +120
Under 4.5 wins: -140
