The Arizona Cardinals and the rest of the NFL will find out their full 2023 schedule Thursday evening. One of the big questions fans look at is how many prime-time games their teams get.
Because of new scheduling rules in 2023, no team is guaranteed any games in the prime-time slots of Thursday night, Sunday night and Monday night.
Because the Cardinals are expected to be one of the worst teams in the league and their biggest star — quarterback Kyler Murray — is expected to miss games to start the season, there is a good chance that they will get shut out of the prime-time games, especially since they do not have a strong national following.
Divisional rivalries always make intriguing matchups, but they are less so when one team isn’t good. So their games against the 49ers, Seahawks and Rams aren’t nearly as intriguing when the Cardinals aren’t expected to be competitive.
However, one game they have this coming season makes sense for a prime-time matchup. A nice Thursday night or Monday night game could be their road game against the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Why?
It would be Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon’s return to Philadelphia, where he was defensive coordinator. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and the Cardinals’ Murray both played collegiately at Oklahoma.
If it is late in the season, a Hurts vs. Murray matchup with Gannon returning to Philly might be fun. The Eagles have a national following and will get eyeballs no matter what.
Should Cardinals fans expect it? No, but if they are going to get any prime-time game, this is the one game that makes the most sense.
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