Cardinals' Must-Watch Game Won't Come Until Late in 2023

The top game to watch in the Arizona Cardinals' season won't come until the end of the year.

Following the release of the Arizona Cardinals' 2023 regular season schedule, there's plenty of storylines to discuss and monitor as the team navigates their first full season under new head coach Jonathan Gannon. 

The Cardinals aren't exactly favorites to make a deep push in the postseason this year. 

They're betting underdogs in every single game this season after the schedule release and the roster only took losses after an ugly 4-13 season. Kyler Murray is still rehabbing his torn ACL, and until he's back on the field and healthy, the Cardinals won't know their true potential.

Thus, many believe 2023 will be a wait-and-see year with Arizona in that regard. However, Cardinals fans will still have some notable games to watch this upcoming season. 

The Athletic's Doug Haller says Arizona's biggest must-watch game will come in Week 17 against the Philadelphia Eagles. 

"By this point, we’ll know a lot about Jonathan Gannon’s first season. How long it took for Kyler Murray to return from ACL surgery. If Budda Baker, who recently asked for a trade, is happy. Maybe even where Arizona, which has Houston’s 2024 first-round pick as well as its own, might stand in the upcoming draft," said Haller. 

"But this game still will be big simply because of Gannon’s return to Philly. Eagles fans weren’t thrilled with his performance as defensive coordinator in last season’s Super Bowl loss to Kansas City. And they’re not exactly a forgiving bunch."

Those are all certainly good points, and perhaps the Cardinals can even play spoiler to an Eagles squad that hopes to again make a deep push into the postseason next year. 

In total, the Cardinals will travel 25,126 miles total in 2023, seventh in the NFL. Their strength of schedule (combined opponents winning percentage from last season) of .519 ranks at No. 11.