Arizona Cardinals have one of NFL's toughest scheduled in 2026

The Arizona Cardinals are not expected to be very good in 2026. They play in a very competitive NFC West, where the three other teams in the division made the playoffs. And while they have a last-place schedule, they have one of the toughest schedules in the league.

According to their opponents' win-loss record in 2025, they have the third toughest schedule in the NFL in 2026. The .538 winning percentage of their opponents is topped only by the Miami Dolphins at .542 and the Chicago Bears at .550.

The Cardinals' tough schedule is due to a couple of things.

One is playing in the NFC West where their three division rivals won 11 or more games in 2025. Normally in a division, are a couple competitive teams, a mid team and a bad one. The Cardinals were the bad one last season, but the other three were very good. There was no mid team. And the Cardinals play those three teams twice.

They also had a little bad luck. Their last-place games are against the Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints and New York Jets. The Jets were bad, but the Lions were a favorite to win the Super Bowl who had tons of injuries and played in a very competitive NFC North. They were a 9-win last-place team. The Saints went 6-11 and won 4 of their final 6 games.

Plus, in playing the AFC West in 2026, they had two teams with double-digit wins.

All of that leads to a teams with low expections. They have a tough schedule. They were bad least year and didn't make big changes, and they have a less than inspiring quarterback room.

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