Arizona Cardinals: Schedule not so daunting
By Scott Allen
The Arizona Cardinals play five of their last eight games on the road
The Arizona Cardinals are 3-4-1. Many seasons that would like like a death sentence when you compare that to the NFL Standings.
While the Cardinals are nowhere near where they want or even need to be to make a run at the NFC West crown or a playoff spot. However with the way the rest of the NFC is playing, the Cardinals have a lot of football in front of them to still get the job done.
Even though the play five of their last five on the road, the road now doesn’t look as daunting as it once did. The Cardinals are on the bye this week.
Coming out of the bye, they host the San Francisco 49ers. If things work out the way they should, the Cardinals should hit the road at 4-4-1.
The Cardinals then head to Minnesota to face the Vikings on November 20th. The Vikings started out 5-0. They have dropped to 5-2 and have not looked very good in the last two weeks.
The Vikings do have a very good defense, but the Chicago Bears and the Philadelphia Eagles figured them out. Why can’t the Cardinals?
After Minnesota, the Cardinals go to Atlanta, a place the Cardinals have historically not played very well. Atlanta is now 6-3 after a win this past Thursday night. Still, they have three losses, including one at home to a team the Cardinals have already beaten, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Then the Cardinals come home on December 4th to host the Washington Redskins. If they can split the road trips and beat Washington, that leaves them at 6-5-1. It might behoove them to sweep the road and after beating Washington, sit at 7-4-1.
Three of the last four weeks will be on the road. They head to Florida to play the Miami Dolphins, then come home for their last game in Glendale against the New Orleans Saints. Both are winnable but both will be tough. At worst they could be 8-5-1.
The last two weeks are on the road within the division. This is where the playoffs for the Cardinals could be decided. They are at the Seattle Seahawks on Christmas Eve in week 16, and at the Los Angeles Rams on New Years Day in week 17. Win both, the playoffs are likely. They could finish 8-7-1, which won’t get them in.
They also could finish 10-5-1, which could get them in but no guarantee. There is very little margin for error now.