Breaking down Cards’ 2021 schedule
Cardinals insider Bob McManaman offers a quick, game-by-game look at what’s in store for the team based on the 2021 regular-season schedule that was released on Wednesday. Kickoff times are in Arizona time.
WEEK 1
Sunday, Sept. 12 at Titans, 10 a.m. (CBS)
Not only do the Cardinals and rookie starting inside linebacker Zaven Collins get a chance to try and corral massive running back Derrick Henry, but they get a chance to see the cornerback they passed on in first-round pick Caleb Farley from Virginia Tech.
WEEK 2
Sunday, Sept. 19 vs. Vikings, 1:05 p.m. (FOX)
Don’t miss this game, especially if you are a fan or a critic of former Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson. It’s his chance, should he succeed, to show GM Steve Keim made a mistake in not resigning him this offseason. For the Cardinals and Kyler Murray, it’s a chance to attack Peterson over and over and over again with whichever wide receiver Peterson is assigned to cover.
WEEK 3
Sunday, Sept. 26 at Jaguars, 10 a.m. (FOX)
We’ll see how long it takes the Jaguars to return to respectability with a new head coach (Urban Meyer), a new starting quarterback (Trevor Lawrence), a new No.1 running back (Travis Etienne) and a new wide receiver (Marvin Jones Jr.). Jacksonville has had just one winning season in the past 13 years (10-6 in 2017).
WEEK 4
Sunday, Oct. 3 at Rams, 1:05 p.m. (FOX)
As dominant as he’s been during his first seven seasons, which has included winning NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors three times, Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald hasn’t been particularly dominant the past two years against the Cardinals. In his last four games against them, Donald’s only produced 11 total tackles and just 21⁄2 sacks.
WEEK 5
Sunday, Oct. 10 vs. 49ers, 1:25 p.m. (FOX)
Food for thought while pondering the present and the future: The 49ers traded their first-round pick this year, the firstround picks in 2022 and 2023, along with a compensatory third-round pick next year to the Dolphins to move up from No 15 to No. 3 this year and select North Dakota State QB Trey Lance.
WEEK 6
Sunday, Oct. 17 at Browns, 1:05 p.m. (FOX)
When the NFL expanded the regular season to 17 games, the Cardinals got matched up with the Browns and it’s
Round II in the battle of former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks from Oklahoma when Arizona’s Kyler Murray goes against Cleveland’s Baker Mayfield. Murray and the Cardinals won the first meeting, a 38-24 shellacking in 2019.
WEEK 7
Sunday, Oct. 24 vs. Texans, 1:25 p.m. (CBS)
Get your popcorn ready. Two of the Cardinals’ biggest stars, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and edge rusher J.J. Watt, face their former team for the first time and it ought to be a doozy of a reunion. We’ll see if Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is available or if his offseason legal problems follow him into the 2021 season.
WEEK 8
Thursday, Oct. 28 vs. Packers, 5:20 p.m. (FOX/NFLN/Amazon)
The last time these two teams met, it was Week 13 during the 2018 season at Lambeau Field and the Cardinals beat Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, 20-17. A few hours later, head coach Mike McCarthy was fired. The question for this game is, will the disgruntled Rodgers even be with the Packers or will the two sides resolve their issues?
WEEK 9
Sunday, Nov. 7 at 49ers, 2:25 p.m. (FOX)
The good news is the Cardinals won eight straight on the road against the 49ers from 2015-18. The bad news is, they’ve lost three of their four trips to the Bay Area. It’ll be interesting to see how long San Francisco sticks with Jimmy Garoppolo as its starting quarterback and when it decides to give the rookie Lance his shot.
WEEK 10
Sunday, Nov. 14 vs. Panthers, 2:05 p.m. (FOX)
The NFL quarterback carousal of 2021
means the Cardinals get to face another different starting quarterback in his debut season with a new team. In this case, it’s Sam Darnold, who was traded away by the Jets. Of more importance in this game, there’s the return to State Farm Stadium by former Cardinals linebacker Haason Reddick, who now plays defensive end in Carolina’s 4-3 base defense.
WEEK 11
Sunday, Nov. 21 at Seahawks, 2:25 p.m. (FOX)
Since getting jack-stomped 58-0 in Seattle back in 2012, the Cardinals have won five of their last eight trips to the Seahawks. Conversely, they’ve also dropped two of their past three in Seattle. To reach the playoffs, Arizona might have to sweep at least one of its three NFC West rivals and if it isn’t the Seahawks, it might have to be the 49ers.
WEEK 12
Bye
WEEK 13
Sunday, Dec. 5 at Bears, 1 p.m. (FOX) The Bears have had only one winning season in the past eight years and that was in 2018 when they went 12-4 and lost in the Wild Card round. The big question for Cardinals fans is who will Arizona face at starting quarterback, Andy Dalton or rookie first-round pick Justin Fields?
WEEK 14
Monday, Dec. 13 vs. Rams, 6:15 p.m. (ESPN)
If the Cardinals expect to make the playoffs this season, one thing that must stop is their continued losing streak against the Rams. Right now, it stands at eight straight and the losses have been by a combined score of 251-91. Arizona must at least split the season series to end its five-year postseason drought, but it won’t get any easier with veteran Matthew Stafford now at quarterback for the Rams.
WEEK 15
Sunday, Dec. 19 at Lions, 11 a.m.
(FOX)
In Dan Campbell, the Cardinals get to face one of three new NFL head coaches this season. Campbell, you may remember, had one of the most colorful introductory news conferences ever when he said, among other things, that his Lions were going to “kick you in the teeth,” and “bite a kneecap off” and “take another hunk out of you.” Betcha can’t wait to see that.
WEEK 16
Saturday, Dec. 25 vs. Colts, 6:15 p.m. (NFLN)
The Colts have a new starting quarterback after trading a third-round draft pick this year and a conditional secondround pick in 2022 to the Eagles for Carson Wentz. Between 2017-19, Wentz had the fifth-highest passer rating in the NFL and he is reunited with his former offensive coordinator in Philly, Frank Reich, the Colts’ head coach, and his former quarterbacks coach, Press Taylor.
WEEK 17
Sunday, Jan. 2 at Cowboys, 11 a.m. (FOX)
Arizona crushed Dallas 38-10 during a Monday night massacre last season, but with a healthy Dak Prescott returning to lead an offense that includes weapons like Ezekiel Elliott, Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb, the Cowboys could be out for revenge in 2021.
WEEK 18
Sunday, Jan. 9 vs. Seahawks, 2:25 p.m. (FOX)
Although there’s no question Seahawks wide receiver D.K. Metcalf is an explosive and incredibly big and fast offensive threat, here’s something to keep in mind: In four career games against the Cardinals, he only has six total receptions for 75 yards and one touchdown.