Arizona Cardinals: 2017 Schedule Breakdown And Analysis
By Tyler Olson
It’s time to start making your plans for the fall of 2017. This year’s Arizona Cardinals NFL schedule has officially been released.
Coming off of a big loss in the NFC Championship game against the Carolina Panthers, the Arizona Cardinals entered the 2016 NFL season with a clean slate ready to make another run at a Super Bowl. Carson Palmer was coming off an MVP-esque season for head coach Bruce Arians, rookie running back David Johnson was bursting onto the scene and the defense was one of the best in the league.
Last year, however, wasn’t what anyone was expecting. While Johnson was a hot name for the MVP all year Palmer struggled moving the offense while the defense struggled to against the pass. Arians’ squad was never able to put together more than two back-to-back wins throughout the year finishing 7-8-1.
More from Arizona Cardinals
- 2023 NFL Season: 3 teams who are already doomed
- 3 NFL teams most likely to stay in last place for 2023 season
- Quarterback Shuffle: 3 passers who could be on the move in ’24
- Budda Baker is essential for Arizona Cardinals success in 2023
- 3 reasons Arizona Cardinals have the worst roster in the NFL in 2023
This year head coach Bruce Arians has a lot of intriguing match-ups including returning to Indianapolis to take on the Colts, a place he used as a stepping stone en route to his first head coaching gig in the league. He’ll need a strong season to keep from finding himself on the hot seat in the desert and it’ll start with looking at his opponents. The Arizona Cardinals schedule for 2017 can be found here.
Taking a quick look at the schedule it’s fairly favorable for the Cardinals to make a bounce back in 2017. They only play on the road two consecutive weeks once which will be huge. They travel to Detroit and Indianapolis to start off, knocking off the rust early on in the season. Both will be winnable games. After that they get two consecutive home games to close up the first quarter of the season which includes a Monday night matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.
The bye week comes at a solid time, Week 8, to allow for players to get healthy and ready to roll for the second half of the season. After that they play five at home and four on the road with a three-game home stand coming Weeks 12-14. Their second and final primetime game comes Week 10 against a divisional rival, the Seattle Seahawks. They end the season with the Seahawks, too, after finishing divisional matchups with the 49ers in Week 9 and the Rams in Week 13.
Next: 2017 NFL Schedule Released For All 32 Teams
Cardinals fans should be happy about the schedule this season. Two big primetime games, ending the season against the defending NFC West champs, and only one consecutive road trip plays favorably into their hands.