Revenge of the Birds
The Arizona Cardinals began 2025 training camp with so much hope. They knew that the NFC West Division was going to be good, and the franchise was prepared to fight the good fight.
The Los Angeles Rams were previewed as one of the NFC’s best teams and expected to compete with the Philadelphia Eagles for conference supremacy.
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Expectations were also high for the Seattle Seahawks, who had built a stiff defense. The jury was out on the San Francisco 49ers, who were really good two seasons ago, yet had issues last year. However, Robert Saleh had returned to be the defensive coordinator again, which had been their Achilles heel in 2024.
So, the Cardinals had their work cut out for them. These teams represented six games on the calendar. The season began with two wins followed by a five-game losing skid. Then, the Cardinals spanked the Dallas Cowboys on the road in Jarah’s World. Suddenly, Arizona fans began to rethink the season and have glimmers of hope.
Had the franchise turned a corner? Could they defeat division foes Seattle and San Fran in the next two weeks and make a run at this thing? Yes, they would need some help down the stretch with certain games going their way. But if this roster could string along some wins, maybe, just maybe, they could find themselves in sight of a Wild Card seed. Maybe?
But the illusion was short-lived.
Seattle took the Cardinals to the woodshed. So did the 49ers the following week. This means Arizona would end the 2025 season 0-2 against both clubs. All games are important, but division contests are paramount to achieving victory. This year’s team failed on both accounts.
The argument was that the Cardinals had the Niners in their first matchup, then gave the game away. The storyline was that Arizona had come from behind to tie the Seahawks in their first contest, then gave the game away.
The reality ultimately became: both Seattle and San Francisco are much better ballclubs. And to add salt to the wound, the Cardinals still have to play Los Angeles twice. Ouch.
So, now Arizona sits at 3-7-0. Every other team in the division has a winning record. They are the only club that doesn’t have a positive division record as the Cards are now 0-4. It is conceivable that all three divisional clubs could end up in the postseason.
Seven games remain. The Cardinals aren’t mathematically out – yet. But that’s just a matter of time. All of us who cover the franchise don’t want to admit all this. We all want to write about how this scenario could happen, or this set of teams would lose, how the team could recover and find their way into the promised land. But numbers don’t lie. And when your team is down 38-7 at the half against a division foe like the Seahawks, and then the following weekend behind 35-10 to another division...
