The order of matchups on an NFL team's schedule can make or break their season. This is especially true of middling teams like the Arizona Cardinals. A difficult or easy stretch can be the difference between a playoff appearance and another year of disappointment.
The NFL schedule may have just sentenced the Arizona Cardinals to an agonizing finish in the 2025 season.
NFL schedules brutal finish to the 2025 season for the Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals 2025 schedule is officially out. For the most part, Cardinals fans should be optimistic about the results. Arizona has an especially early start to the season. With games against the Saints, Panthers, Titans, and Colts early in the year, the Cardinals should get off to a hot start.
Key divisional games against the Seahawks and 49ers early in the season should give the Cardinals an opportunity to get a leg up against their rivals in the NFC West title race.
The Arizona Cardinals OFFICIAL 2025 NFL Schedule 👀 pic.twitter.com/DDAqJwWPXq
— PHNX Cardinals (@PHNX_Cardinals) May 14, 2025
But the Cardinals will have to run through a gauntlet at the tail end of the season. Arizona's final six games are some of their toughest all year. Starting in Week 13, the Cardinals will face off with the Buccaneers, Rams, Texans, Falcons, and Bengals before finishing with another game against the Rams. Even worse, four of those six games are on the road.
It's completely possible that the Cardinals lose five of those six final games, making a playoff appearance difficult to picture.
With this in mind, the Cardinals must capitalize on their relatively easy start to the season. A 6-0 start is not out of the question. Arizona can't continue their trend of dropping games to lesser opponents. When you're pushing for a playoff appearance, every single game is crucial.
If the Arizona Cardinals can take care of business in games they should win, they should return to the playoffs for the first time in years. If not, their difficult stretch to end the season may just be their downfall.