When Will the Arizona Cardinals Losing Streak End?

At this point, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the Arizona Cardinals are falling below expectations. Ever since the 2021 season, when Arizona started 7-0 and finished 11-6, leading to an embarrassing loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Wild Card round, the Cardinals have been nothing but middling at best. If only it were the mid-2010s again, when Arizona was consistently making the playoffs and competing at the highest level, and made Cardinals football worth watching. Now, it feels depressing to turn on an Arizona Cardinals game just to watch disappointment after disappointment, with blown leads galore highlighting it all. This especially applies to this season, where Arizona is now in the midst of a four-game losing streak after starting the season with back-to-back wins. Even then, those wins came at the feet of near comebacks made by the New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers. In this article, I plan to list the potential games that the Cardinals could potentially win, while also listing the games that they are most likely to lose. However, I would like to note that all this can change because in the NFL, any team can win in any given game. 

To start, we have the games that Arizona could potentially pull a win out of. As of the time of this article, the Cardinals await the Green Bay Packers in Week Seven of the 2025 NFL season. Knowing the recent history of these two teams, any team could pull out a victory here, despite Green Bay being favored not only by having a winning record but by being the better-built team. With it being in the desert, this game could end up being a trap game for the Packers, leading to the end of the skid and an Arizona win. Following this game comes a bye week for the Cardinals, but coming out of it, they are traveling to Dallas to take on the Cowboys. The last 10 matchups between these two teams have heavily favored Arizona, as it has taken seven of the past 10, including three out of the four road games at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, while holding a three-game winning streak over Dallas. I think this game will be a fun one to watch and could give the Cardinals a legitimate chance to come out of the bye on a good note. Lastly, I think the NFC West divisional games could turn the favor of Arizona after seeing how they recently ended. Following the Cowboys game, the Cardinals would travel to Seattle in Week 10, then host San Francisco in Week 11. Both games resulted in Arizona losing on the final play, with game-ending field goals, so having this could give the Cardinals the boost they need to enact revenge. Now, Los Angeles would pose a problem, as Arizona has not faced them yet and has struggled mightily in the recent past against them, dropping seven of the last 10. However, the Rams did get beaten by 31 at State Farm Stadium last season, while also only being able to pull out a 13-9 win at SoFi Stadium. A split at the minimum is very viable for the Cardinals.

After seeing all the potential wins that Arizona could have, it's now worth talking about the games that it will most likely drop, just based on the opposing team's record as of this article and history. To start, we have any of the division games like I just mentioned in the potential wins paragraph. The trend of close division losses could continue for the Cardinals, and based on how this team has performed thus far and in previous years, it wouldn’t surprise me to see them drop all the NFC West division games. Now talking outside of the division, the next closest games that could be dropped come from two of the three teams residing in the state of Florida. In Week 12, Arizona will host the Jacksonville Jaguars. In Week 13, the Cardinals travel to Tampa Bay to take on the Buccaneers. Starting with Jacksonville, it will have been four years since these two teams have faced each other, as they have only played six total games against each other. Of those six, Arizona has taken four. However, looking at each team, the Jaguars look to have the early advantage not only with a 4-2 record but also with a better-built roster. Next is Tampa Bay, who, like Jacksonville, have a winning record, but is a game better at 5-1. In recent history, the Buccaneers and Cardinals have split the past 10 games, but Tampa Bay has taken three out of its four home games. This, along with the fact that Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield has been playing at an MVP level so far, can prove to be the difference-maker for Arizona. The next team that could give the Cardinals some fits is the Houston Texans. In Week 15, Arizona will travel to Houston. Like the Jaguars series, the Cardinals and Texans have only faced off six times, with each team taking three games each. However, those wins have come at home for each team, so that could favor Houston in the end. Next comes Arizona’s final home game, where it will host the Atlanta Falcons in Week 16. While Atlanta has taken six out of the last 10, those four losses did come on the road, so this game could technically be moved into the potential wins, but with how the Falcons are built, I see it as a potential loss. Finally, the Cardinals will travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals in Week 17. Both teams have split in the past 10 games, but with the Bengals expected to have star quarterback Joe Burrow back by then, I can’t see a way that Arizona wins a road shootout like this. While this is a lot to process, the Cardinals could go out and very well prove me wrong. However, if history proves right, it’ll be the same old, disappointing Arizona team that fans have been used to.