Arizona Cardinals Upcoming Schedule Tough But Winnable

Oct 6, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals players Alfonso Smith (29) and Andre Ellington (38) celebrate with running back Rashard Mendenhall (28) after Mendenhall scores a touchdown during the third quarter against the Carolina Panthers at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

When the schedule came out back in April these next four games for the Arizona Cardinals have on their schedule seemed like a death sentence to anything good happening for the Cards in the 2013 season.  Even as recently as a couple of weeks ago after losing to the New Orleans Saints in a game many thought they would be more competitive in, many thought, uh-oh, here we go again.

Now, at 3-2, it still most definitely looks tough but now they look more winnable than they did earlier in the season.  They will have a tough time against San Francisco 49’ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and a tough time containing running back Frank Gore but this defense has proven the last couple of weeks that they are legit.  It is in San Francisco though, so even with the best of talent it is a tough place to play.

Then they turn around four days later for a Thursday night tilt against the Seattle Seahawks.  It is at home though.  The return visit to Seattle doesn’t happen until week 16.  That might be the best time to get a very good Hawks team at home, only giving them a few days to prepare.

The next two games though seemed to be just as tough with home games against the Houston Texans and then the bye before hosting the Atlanta Falcons.  Now suddenly, the Texans and Falcons both look very beatable, especially on the road.  They are both struggling.  Houston got blown out and quarterback Matt Schaub is struggling big time.  In Atlanta, the door on the playoffs might already be closing at 1-4.  They lost to the New York Jets on Monday night and have just most likely lost receiver Julio Jones for the season.

Nothing is guaranteed in this business as we all know.  They could go 0-4, they could go 4-0 in this stretch quite honestly.  I think though 3-1 or 2-2 looks a lot more likely now than a 1-3 or 0-4.  They will probably need to win at least one of the games against the Niners or Hawks in order to continue to compete for the division, however go 2-2 in this stretch of games and that puts them at 5-4 and very much alive in the wild card race.  A lot of work for the Cards to do before then though.  One game at a time.