Arizona Cardinals schedule 2020: 3 Toughest, 3 easiest games
By Samuel Teets
Playing in the toughest division in football, the Arizona Cardinals do receive a reprieve by facing the AFC East and NFC East this coming season.
In 2019, the Arizona Cardinals went 5-10-1 under rookie quarterback Kyler Murray and first-year head coach Kliff Kingsbury. After a year of slugging it out near the bottom of the NFL, the Cardinals aren’t in any position to win the NFC West in 2020. However, the team should see significant improvements from last season.
Between adding DeAndre Hopkins and Isaiah Simmons during the offseason, Arizona got better on both sides of the ball. Taking into account star players who are already on the roster like Larry Fitzgerald, Chandler Jones, and Patrick Peterson, the Cardinals seem primed to upset some Super Bowl contenders this coming season.
While Arizona faces a grueling divisional schedule against its NFC West rivals, the team also faces two of the weakest divisions in the league this year. Between battling the AFC East and NFC East, the Cardinals should pick up several easy wins to balance the losses from their intra-divisional schedule.
Toughest Game No. 3: Seattle Seahawks, Week 11
The NFC West is always one of the most entertaining divisions in the NFL. Every game is a battle, and there are rarely blowouts, even between the playoff-caliber teams and the division’s bottom feeders. Last season, the Cardinals lost 10-27 to Seattle in Week 4 before pulling off a 27-13 upset victory at CenturyLink Field in Week 16.
This year, Arizona faces Seattle in Weeks 7 and 11. I picked Week 11 as the tougher matchup because it’s in CenturyLink, one of the hardest stadiums for away teams to win in. However, there’s a chance the Cardinals pull off back-to-back years with wins in front of Seattle’s home crowd.
Easiest Game No. 3: New York Giants, Week 14
On paper, the Giants look like a formidable offense. Daniel Jones didn’t light up the gridiron last season, but he played decent for a rookie. Saquon Barkley went through a small sophomore slump, but he should round back into form this coming season. Selecting Andrew Thomas in the 2020 NFL Draft also adds more punch to New York’s attack.
However, the Giants only scored 21.3 points per game last season, which tied with the Carolina Panthers and Detroit Lions for 18th in the NFL. If Jones experiences any regression in his second season, the team’s offense could rank in the bottom ten.
While New York’s offense should perform well in theory, the defense is another matter. Except for a few players, the defense looks gutted. There’s simply no way for that group to handle all of Arizona’s weapons.