With the NFC West fast becoming a pressure cooker of competition, every divisional match-up this season is a make-or-break game. All four teams—Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks—will claw, tackle, crash, and fight for a spot in the postseason.
So, getting a win over a division rival means one step closer to a playoff berth.
And with the latest rumor of the upcoming schedule, the Cardinal might have been given a gift from the football gods (or, at least, something to offset that other aggravating schedule rumor). While we won’t know if this is true until the NFL releases its complete schedule today (May 14) at 8 pm EST, some fans are already celebrating an easy W.
Cardinals will reportedly face division rivals in Week 3
Again, this is just a rumor, but it comes from Bo Brack, an Arizona Cardinals insider. Brack reports that in Week 3, the Cardinals will fly to San Francisco to face the 49ers in their home opener.
In the past, this was likely doom for the Cardinals. The 49ers were recently Super Bowl contenders, but after the Kansas City Chiefs beat them in Super Bowl LVIII, the Niners haven’t been the same. They slumped to the bottom of the division in 2024, going 6-11.
While the Cardinals barely improved on their 8-9 record, momentum is a big deal in the NFL. Last year, Arizona improved from its consecutive 4-13 records. With the team making some significant moves in the 2025 NFL Draft and the offseason, Arizona is primed to continue the upward trend.
“Cards are gonna be legit this year,” said one fan on X after hearing the news of the AZ/SF matchup in Week 3.
Don’t Get Too Cocky, Cardinals
Here’s the thing: the 49ers are agents of chaos this season. We don’t know if they will be the team that contended for Super Bowls in the past, or if their spirits remain broken. We won’t know what kind of Niners team the Cardinals face, especially in San Francisco’s home opener.
Plus, Arizona focused a lot on the defense during the offseason. Kyler Murray is facing immense pressure to live up to his potential, and Marvin Harrison Jr. needs to show why he deserved to go in the first round of last year’s draft.
If that wasn’t enough, the rumor is that four days after this NFC West showdown, the Cardinals will play…another NFC West showdown. There are rumors that the Cardinals will play the Seattle Seahawks in the Week 4 Thursday Night Football game.
It sounds a bit hyperbolic, but it’s true: the Cardinals need to win back-to-back games within five days if they want to make the playoffs.
If the Niners are back in championship form and Seattle continues its surge from last season, Arizona is in for a rough start to the 2025 season.
And it won’t end easily for the Cardinals, either. There are also reports that the Cardinals will end the 2025 season in Los Angeles, facing their division rival, the Rams.
The schedule isn’t out yet, and it’s shaping up to be a bumpy ride for the Cardinals. But if San Francisco slumps again, it may not be so bad for the Cards in Week 3.