With the coming close of the 2011 NFL regular season coming to an end and the Arizona Cardinals being eliminated from the playoffs, people have begun to look forward to 2012 and the Cardinals schedule for next season. The 2012 Arizona Cardinals 2012 schedule/opponents are listed on azcardinals.com in a post by Darren Urban.
Listed there are all but two of the teams the Cards will face next season.
At home, the Cardinals are sure to face:
- Seattle Seahawks
- San Francisco 49ers
- St. Louis Rams
- Chicago Bears
- Detroit Lions
- Buffalo Bills
- Miami Dolphins
On the road, the Cardinals are sure to face:
- Seattle Seahawks
- San Francisco 49ers
- St. Louis Rams
- Green Bay Packers
- Minnesota Vikings
- New England Patriots
- New York Jets
The last home game and road game will be determined by what place the Cardinals finish in the their division and what happens in the NFC East (the NFC South standings are final).
If the Cardinals beat the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, their final road game will be against the Atlanta Falcons. If they lose, they will travel to Carolina to play the Panthers.
The last home game is complicated because the standings are up in the air. If the Cardinals win and the Philadelphia Eagles win, the Cards will host the Eagles. Philly will lock up second place no matter what if they win. They have a series sweep over the Dallas Cowboys and, while they split the season series with the New York Giants, they hold a tiebreak because of their division record, regardless of what happens on Sunday.
If the Cardinals lose and the Eagles lose, they will still play Philly at home. If the Cardinals lose and the Eagles win, then the Cards would host the loser of the Cowboys/Giants game. If the Giants were to win, it would mean that the Cowboys would come to town again for the third year in a row. That would be fun, because they cannot seem to win here.
No matter what way you look at it, the 2012 schedule looks tough right now. Obviously the offseason will bring changes, but it will take an improved effort by Arizona if they are to be playoff contenders next season.
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