Arizona Cardinals: A closer look at 2015 opponents
By Scott Allen
The Arizona Cardinals travel to the midwest and back east more in 2015 than in 2014
Because of the NFL’s rotating schedule between playing different divisions within your own conference and the other conference, the AFC in the Arizona Cardinals case, some years schedules will be much tougher than others. For the Cardinals, 2015 is a tough one at first glance.
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The away games: Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles
Of course a lot of predicting what will happen in these games all depends on when they are played. Will they be early games or late games? Will they be on national television? What time of year, September when its warmer or December when its colder?
For now we just take a look at the schedule based on what we know today. Of course the NFC West will be tough again. The Seattle Seahawks are in Super Bowl XLIX next week here in Arizona, so clearly those are two very tough games where we’ve learned the Cardinals will need Carson Palmer if they want to come away with a win in either game here or there.
The Niners will be a team in transition but will still be a formidable opponent. The two teams split the home-and-home in 2014. They have a new coach in Jim Tomsula. Expect the 49ers to be the week one and or week 17 opponent. Week 17 is always an NFC West game but since that rule was put in place, the opponent has been the Niners all but once.
The Rams could have Sam Bradford back if they decide to give it one more shot with him. The Rams were in both games they lost to the Cardinals in 2014. They, like the Cardinals, need a healthy veteran quarterback to help them win. Defense will win you a bunch of games but in the end it is all about the quarterback.
The Bears are in transition. They have a new coach in John Fox. This could be a dangerous game for the Cardinals if it is held in November or December. This one probably gets an early start time and there will be no worry about national television for this one.
The Lions have to be happy to finally be getting the Cardinals in Detroit. It seems every year that the Lions have to come to Arizona. The two teams played a very close one in Glendale this season. I would mark this one on the schedule. You have two playoff teams from 2014 here. Look for a national television spot on either Sunday or Monday night on this one.
The Eagles game will be in Philly. Last season Carson Palmer and company got revenge for the loss in Philly in 2013, beating the Eagles 24-20. It was a great game that came down to the final play in the end zone. This is another possible spot for national television. The NFL put the Cardinals in Philly in December and November the last two times they scheduled them there.
The AFC teams, Steelers and Browns both will be tough games no matter the personnel. The Steelers game could be a hit for Sunday or Monday night or even a late afternoon national broadcast on Sunday afternoon. The Browns need to decide what to do at quarterback. They were 7-4 at one point only to lose their last five and finish 7-9.