On Thursday, the Arizona Cardinals found out when they will be playing all 17 of their games during the 2022 NFL regular season.
Before we saw the 2022 regular-season schedule for the Arizona Cardinals, we already knew that they were going to have a tough task in front of them to make the playoffs in back-to-back years.
But now we know exactly how tough next season will be for the Cardinals and the schedule even begins with an extremely difficult matchup when they open at home against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Things won’t get any easier for Arizona when they have to head out on the road in Week 2 to take on the Las Vegas Raiders and their new pass rusher, Chandler Jones. Beginning the season with these two games, we should find out very fast just how good next season’s Cardinals will be.
AZ Cardinals News: How difficult is Arizona’s schedule in 2022?
Below is the official 2022 schedule for the Cardinals.
The 2022 Schedule has arrived.
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) May 13, 2022
Tickets available via @SeatGeek ➡️ https://t.co/3owhd4AQ8a
📺 2022 Schedule Release on NFLN pic.twitter.com/ngfBaPEbDI
The first three weeks of the schedule certainly don’t appear to be very thrilling for Arizona next season. Especially since the Cardinals will have to play those games without their top wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
But after the first three matchups, Arizona’s 2022 schedule is pretty manageable, with only two games against non-NFC West teams that made the playoffs last season.
The Week 13 bye is a bit late, so that could be trouble for the Cardinals if injuries start to pile up for them. However, they will have a mini-bye after their Week 7 game against the New Orleans Saints since that matchup will be played on a Thursday night.
Ending the 2022 season with three of their final four games on the road is less than ideal as well. At the same time, Arizona was actually a better team on the road in 2021 than they were at home, so this might actually be a better scenario for them.
So the Cardinals now know the exact path they will have to take in order to get back to the playoffs in 2022. It won’t be easy, but they definitely have the talent to do it.