Believe it or not, the Arizona Cardinals have one of the most balanced schedules for the 2024 season. Despite having a cross country trip in Week 1, they then come back to Arizona for three consecutive weeks before an even and balanced schedule for the rest of the season. Unlike some teams, the Cardinals are in good shape as far as their schedule and will now just need to go and prove who they can be.
Looking to turn around from an 8-26 record the last two seasons, Jonathan Gannon and his staff have a better roster with all of their health. The NFC West is going to be competitive and while the Cardinals have an uphill battle, this season should not be one to be counted out.
Here are the five most important games for the Cardinals heading into 2024.
5.) Week 4: vs. Washington Commanders
At the end of their three home game stretch at the beginning of the season, the Cardinals will host Dan Quinn and the Washington Commanders who will more than likely have their rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels under center. However, that should not be the biggest headline of this game. For the first time since the 2022 season, former Cardinals’ head coach Kliff Kingsbury makes his return to the desert as the Commanders’ offensive coordinator. This has been a long time coming for Cardinals fans as Kingsbury will be looking to prove that he can be a head coach once again in the NFL.
His replacement, Jonathan Gannon and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis will need to disrupt Kingsbury’s plan and shut down the Washington offense. These two teams met in Week 1 last season where the Commanders came out on top, 20-16. It is time for some revenge against a familiar face.
4.) Week 7: vs. LA Chargers (MNF)
The one and only primetime matchup for the Cardinals will take place in the middle of the season where they will host the Los Angeles Chargers. This past offseason, the Chargers acquired Jim Harbaugh as their new head coach but lost a lot of offensive talent. It will be a brand new look for sure, where all signs point to the Chargers being a run-heavy type of offense. At the same time, Justin Herbert is a top five talent of a quarterback who can sling the ball down the field. The only problem is that he will not have the likes of Keenan Allen or Mike Williams to throw to.
Being under the lights is a big deal and the Cardinals cannot afford to waste an opportunity to show the whole NFL world who they can be when all of the attention is on them. Two west coast teams battling it out in Arizona is a perfect setup for the Cardinals to give a preview of what they can be moving forward.
3.) Week 9: vs. Chicago Bears
While the Chargers will look new in 2024, so will the Chicago Bears but they should be much better. They are out of the Justin Fields era and have entered the Caleb Williams era at quarterback. In addition, they have loaded up on offense surrounding Williams with players like Keenan Allen, Gerald Everett, D’Andre Swift and Rome Odunze to add with D.J. Moore. The Bears look fantastic on paper, but nothing matters until the game stars.
The reason why this game is on this list is because this could be a potential tiebreaker game for the playoffs if both Arizona and Chicago are fighting for a playoff spot in the NFC. The Cardinals’ defense will need to find a way to rattle Williams and keep him from getting his weapons involved in the game. This should be an exciting matchup as Williams and Kyler Murray both have some of the strongest arms in the league.
2.) Week 17: @ LA Rams
The Cardinals face the Los Angeles Rams twice like usual but the second matchup is always the most important one. Arizona heads to southern California to take on the Rams in what could be a big matchup for both teams. The Rams have the Cardinals’ number as of lately and will be looking to take this late season matchup once again. Arizona is going to need to prove that not only can they beat this Rams team, but that it can be done in critical parts of the season. All division games are important, but this one feels like the most crucial one.
Week 1: @ Buffalo Bills
They say that the most important game is the next one and the Cardinals’ next regular season game takes place against the Buffalo Bills on the road. Arizona gets a massive schedule break by facing Buffalo early on. First of all, they get one of their cross country trips out of the way early on. Then they avoid the harsh weather that Buffalo gets in November and December. Even though it looks like the Bills took a step back this past offseason, they still have Josh Allen under center and a defense that Sean McDermott always has near the top of the league.
Seeing Josh Allen vs. Kyler Murray to kick off the season, there is no better start to it. The Bills are a great first test to see what the Cardinals are and who they can be. Not to mention, this game will show Cardinals fans what Arizona needs to correct moving forward. This is going to be a fun matchup in Western New York.