Week 3: Detroit Lions
It is Jonathan Gannon vs. Dan Campbell for Week 3 in Arizona. Both head coaches can motivate their players and both of their teams play hard, despite the outcome of the game. There is no doubt that the Lions have risen fast to the near top of the NFC and even the league. The Cardinals get themselves the home field advantage and Jared Goff, who just signed a massive four-year, $212 million dollar contract. While Goff deserved to get paid, players who get paid tend to decline just a bit from where they left off before their new contract.
There is no doubt that this will be an extremely tough matchup for the Cardinals. While Arizona will have the chance to take advantage of a young Lions secondary, it won’t be enough to get the win. Detroit comes to Arizona and wins this one to give the Cardinals their second loss in three weeks.
Record: 1-2
Week 4: Washington Commanders
For their third consecutive home game in four weeks, the Cardinals will host the Washington Commanders. This is the revenge game for Commanders’ offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, who was the head coach in Arizona from 2019-2022. Kingsbury has a new rookie quarterback in Jayden Daniels who was the Heisman Trophy winner at LSU last year. The Commanders have quality veteran experience on both sides of the ball in Bobby Wagner and Austin Ekeler. Under new head coach Dan Quinn, the Commanders will look to build themselves back up.
Last season, the Cardinals and Commanders faced off in Week 1 with the Commanders coming out on top 20-16. That was when the Cardinals did not have Kyler Murray or a majority of the weapons that they have now, including an improved defense. This will be a different outcome. Arizona gets their second win of the season in this game to go 2-1 in the three home game stretch.
Record: 2-2
Week 5: @ San Francisco 49ers
After three home games in a row, the Cardinals go up to northern California to take on the 49ers. The Cardinals have lost the last four games against San Francisco, giving up 30+ points in each of those games. The 49ers have built themselves up as the best team in the NFC in recent memory and they might have just one more season to get a Super Bowl before they start paying and losing key players that have contributed to their success. The Cardinals have not defeated the 49ers in the Bay since 2021 and that streak continues here.