Every team in the NFL has some sort of pressure for success. Now there are all kinds of success, whether it be finishing with a winning record or making the playoffs. There are a handful of teams that have championship aspirations and have the most pressure. The Arizona Cardinals are working on rebuilding and with their successful offseason, there is an expectation that they will take the next step and compete for a playoff spot, something that they have not done the last two seasons.
When they take the field this season, they will take on three opponents that have the most pressure to succeed in 2024 according to Bradley Locker from Pro Football Focus.
Locker published an article about the seven teams that have the most pressure to succeed this season and the Cardinals will take on three of those teams; New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, and Chicago Bears.
The Cardinals will host the Jets and Bears, and will head to Miami to take on the Dolphins. Arizona has the chance to mess with the success of these three teams. The Jets are going all in with Aaron Rodgers this year after he only played four snaps last season. The Bears have built their best team that looks fantastic on paper with the number one overall pick in Caleb Williams. Finally, Miami is going to have to make a decision on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on whether or not they extend his contract long-term.
All three of these games will be difficult for the Cardinals without question. However, Jonathan Gannon has shown that he can compete with some of the best teams like he did last season. The biggest factor that the Cardinals need to focus on is not allowing these three teams to get easy yards or easy points. If they can accomplish this, these games could come down to the wire.