Arizona Cardinals GM, coach talk about new draft pick Jeremiyah Love
Arizona Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort and head coach Mike LaFleur talk at the team’s facility after the first round of the NFL draft on April 23.
When will the Arizona Cardinals play in the 2026 NFL season?
We don’t have to wait long to find out.
The NFL is set to release its 2026 schedule this week, which will include the dates for its 17 regular-season games this season.
Who will Arizona play at home? Who will the Cardinals play on the road? Will the team play on any holidays or in any international games?
Here’s the latest on the 2026 NFL schedule release for the Arizona Cardinals, including information on how to buy tickets for the team’s nine home games. Keep coming back for the latest updates.
Watch NFL schedule release on FUBO (free trial)
Arizona Cardinals fans apparently don’t get the joy of having a game or games leaked for the 2026 season, like many other NFL teams. At least not yet.
No specific Cardinals games have leaked so far for the team’s schedule in the upcoming season, leaving fans to piece together who the team could play based on leaks for other teams.
Couldn’t the NFL at least leak one Cardinals game to whet fans’ appetite ahead of the full NFL schedule release on Thursday?
Arizona might not be expected to have a good season in 2026, but its fans are passionate about the team anyway.
Last season, the Arizona Cardinals had two prime-time games, playing on Thursday Night Football in Week 4 against the Seattle Seahawks and on Monday Night Football in NFL Week 9 against the Dallas Cowboys.
Could the team get shut out of prime-time games in 2026?
It’s a real possibility based on the team’s record from last season and low expectations.
We don’t have to wait long to find out. The NFL schedule is set to come out on Thursday, May 14, at 5 p.m. MST (8 p.m. ET.)
CBS Sports made one schedule wish for every NFL team in 2026.
The wish for the Cardinals? A winnable home opener.
Bryan DeArdo wrote: “The owner of the league’s hardest strength of schedule, Arizona, would benefit from hosting one of its weaker opponents in Mike LaFleur’s coaching debut. That means the Raiders or the Jets. A Week 1 matchup with the Raiders would be a showdown of two first-time coaches in LaFleur and Klint Kubiak.”
The Arizona Cardinals’ schedule was recently ranked as the most difficult in the NFL for 2026, but it’s not all bad for the Cardinals.
The team will travel less than 22 other teams, according to a recent study.
Bookies.com analyzed every NFL team’s miles traveled for the 2026-27 season and Arizona is ranked No. 23 at 15,646 miles.
The San Francisco 49ers are No. 1, travelling 38,105 miles, followed by the Los Angeles Rams at 34,847 miles (thanks to both teams going to Australia).
The other team in Arizona’s division, the Seattle Seahawks, are at 22,056 miles, No. 10 on the list.
The Carolina Panthers are No. 32 on the list at 8,740 miles.
The Arizona Cardinals will not be returning to Mexico City this season.
Arizona, which played in the most recent game there in 2022, was considered a possibility to play the San Francisco 49ers in Mexico this season, but the NFL has instead decided to pit the Minnesota Vikings against the 49ers in that game, scheduled for Nov. 22.
The game is scheduled to be the NFL Week 11 Sunday Night Football game.
The Cardinals will not be playing an international game for the fourth straight year.
The Cardinals won’t be playing in Paris this season.
There was a chance that Arizona would face the New Orleans Saints in France in 2026, since Arizona is set to face the Saints with the Saints as the home team this season, but it will be the Pittsburgh Steelers as the away team facing the Saints in Week 7, according to reports.
There’s still a chance the Cardinals could play an international game. The San Francisco 49ers are scheduled to host a game in Mexico City, so Arizona could be their opponent.
Sharp Football Analysis determined the strength-of-schedule rankings for every NFL team in 2026-27 based on NFL win-total odds, and the Cardinals had the toughest schedule in the NFL (playing in the same division as the Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers is no easy feat).
The Miami Dolphins were next, with the Carolina Panthers, Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams rounding out the Top 5 NFL teams with the most difficult schedules in the upcoming season.
The analysis had the Detroit Lions’ schedule ranked as the NFL’s easiest, followed by the New Orleans Saints, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns and New York Jets.
USA TODAY Sports asked Gemini to predict the entire first week of the NFL season and it predicted that the Cardinals would open the season at home in NFL Week 1 on Sunday, Sept. 13, against the New York Jets, a feasible outcome.
It would also be an intriguing early-season game between teams with very low expectations.
The Jets had the No. 2 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and took Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey. The Cardinals took Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love with the No. 3 pick in the draft.
It could be interesting to see the rookies face off for the Cardinals and Jets in the first week.
The NFL has announced that the 2026 NFL schedule will be released on Thursday, May 14, at 5 p.m. MST (8 p.m. ET.)
The NFL schedule release for 2026 can be seen on NFL Network and ESPN2.
The release of the 2026 NFL schedule can be streamed on streaming services that carry NFL Network and ESPN2, including FUBO, which offers a free trial.
The Cardinals will host all three NFC West rivals in 2026, with the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks visiting State Farm Stadium.
The team will also host the AFC West’s Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders, NFC North’s Detroit Lions, AFC East’s New York Jets and NFC North’s Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders, giving the team nine home games.
Arizona Cardinals’ home opponents in 2026
- Los Angeles Rams
- San Francisco 49ers
- Seattle Seahawks
- Denver Broncos
- Detroit Lions
- Las Vegas Raiders
- New York Jets
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Washington Commanders
Arizona will have eight road games in the upcoming season, including playing at the Rams, 49ers and Seahawks in NFC West division games.
It will also play at the NFC East’s Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants and the NFC South’s New Orleans Saints.
The Cardinals’ AFC road opponents are the AFC West’s Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers.
Arizona Cardinals’ road opponents in 2026
- Los Angeles Rams
- San Francisco 49ers
- Seattle Seahawks
- Dallas Cowboys
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Los Angeles Chargers
- New Orleans Saints
- New York Giants
Could the Cardinals play an international game in 2026? There’s a chance.
The San Francisco 49ers are scheduled to host a game in Mexico City, so Arizona could be their opponent.
The Cardinals could also play in Paris, with the New Orleans Saints set to host a game in France this season.
The Cardinals are scheduled to play at the Cowboys in 2026 and Dallas is scheduled to host a Thanksgiving Day game, but it was revealed on May 11 that Dallas would be hosting the Philadelphia Eagles in that game. The Lions are also scheduled to host a game that day, but Arizona plays Detroit at home. A third Thanksgiving Day game hasn’t been announced.
The NFL is also scheduled to have a Black Friday game this season and to host games on Christmas Day, giving the Cardinals additional opportunities to play on a holiday.
Looking to buy Cardinals tickets for 2026? The games have not yet been announced, but you can already purchase tickets for Arizona’s home games in the upcoming season on StubHub.
Buy Arizona Cardinals tickets for 2026
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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