Arizona Cardinals: Not a must win against Cowboys
By Scott Allen
The Arizona Cardinals finally will host their home opener this Monday night
It is week three. Let’s all remember that as the Arizona Cardinals (1-1) come home to face the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football.
The Cardinals are one of only three teams in the NFL that played each of the first two weeks of the season on the road. If the math serves correctly, that means there are 14 games still left this season.
That’s a lot of football and that also means eight of those contests will be in the friendly confines of University of Phoenix Stadium. Those home games include the Cowboys, the three NFC West foes, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, and New York Giants.
The way that schedule shapes up, the Cardinals easily could go 6-2 or better. Of course they could still go south and finish worse. There is reason for plenty of hope however despite the way the first two games have played out.
As for their road schedule, the Cardinals only have six road games left. One of them is at a neutral site in London against the Los Angeles Rams. They also still visit the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans, Washington Redskins, and Philadelphia Eagles.
Those are all very winnable games. Will they win them all? Probably not. Can they win at least four of those road games? Absolutely.
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If they win six of eight at home, four of six on road, that leaves them at 11-5. Imagine that. No reason for the sky to be falling just yet.
Lose this week to the Cowboys, as long as they make a decent showing, there still is reason to hope for a 10-6, 11-5 season. The narrative changes if they come out flat over the next two to three games and can’t pull off victories.
It can go both ways but why not have a positive attitude about it until there is something to be negative about when it comes to standings. Yes, the Cardinals have a lot to work on. That’s pretty evident so far.
All that matters though in this league are wins and losses. If they win, so what if it was 6-3 or 34-0?
The Cowboys will be a tough one to pull out even at home. They are coming off a loss to the Denver Broncos. They didn’t play well. Expect them to be much better this Monday.