2026 Arizona Cardinals season
107th season in franchise history
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The 2026 season is the Arizona Cardinals' 107th in the National Football League (NFL), their 39th in Arizona, their 21st playing their homes games at State Farm Stadium, their fourth under general manager Monti Ossenfort and their first under head coach Mike LaFleur. They will attempt to improve on their NFC-worst 3–14 record from 2025, make the playoffs after a four-year absence, and end their 10-year NFC West title drought. This season will begin with the team's third head coach in five seasons.
| 2026 Arizona Cardinals season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Michael Bidwill |
| General manager | Monti Ossenfort |
| Head coach | Mike LaFleur |
| Offensive coordinator | Nathaniel Hackett |
| Defensive coordinator | Nick Rallis |
| Home stadium | State Farm Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 2–4 |
| Division place | 3rd NFC West |
| Uniform | |
For the first time since the 2018 season, quarterback Kyler Murray was not on the roster, having been released on March 11.[1]
Offseason
Coaching changes
Following the end of the 2025 season, the Cardinals fired head coach Jonathan Gannon.[2] Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing left the team to join the Detroit Lions.[3] Nathaniel Hackett was hired to replace Petzing.[4]
Draft
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Draft trades
Staff
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Current roster
Preseason
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOF | August 6 | vs. Carolina Panthers | L 30–33 | 0–1 | Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium | Recap |
| 1 | August 13 | at Las Vegas Raiders | W 27–14 | 1–1 | Allegiant Stadium | Recap |
| 2 | August 22 | Dallas Cowboys | L 13–34 | 1–2 | State Farm Stadium | Recap |
| 3 | August 28 | at Green Bay Packers | L 38–42 | 1–3 | Lambeau Field | Recap |
Regular season
Schedule
- Note: The state of Arizona lies entirely within the Mountain Time Zone; however, Daylight saving time is only observed within the Navajo Nation.
As a result, all times prior to November 1 are aligned with Pacific Daylight Time, not Mountain Daylight Time.
| Week | Date | Time (MST) | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Network | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 13 | 1:25 p.m. | at Los Angeles Chargers | W 26–14 | 1–0 | SoFi Stadium | CBS | Recap |
| 2 | September 20 | 1:25 p.m. | Seattle Seahawks | L 7–31 | 1–1 | State Farm Stadium | Fox | Recap |
| 3 | September 27 | 1:05 p.m. | at San Francisco 49ers | L 30–36 | 1–2 | Levi's Stadium | Fox | Recap |
| 4 | October 4 | 10:00 a.m. | at New York Giants | L 24–36 | 1–3 | MetLife Stadium | CBS | Recap |
| 5 | October 11 | 1:25 p.m. | Detroit Lions | L 21–45 | 1–4 | State Farm Stadium | Fox | Recap |
| 6 | October 18 | 1:05 p.m. | at Los Angeles Rams | W 18–16 | 2–4 | SoFi Stadium | Fox | Recap |
| 7 | October 25 | 1:05 p.m. | Denver Broncos | State Farm Stadium | CBS | |||
| 8 | November 1 | 11:00 a.m. | at Dallas Cowboys | AT&T Stadium | Fox | |||
| 9 | November 8 | 2:25 p.m. | at Seattle Seahawks | Lumen Field | Fox | |||
| 10 | November 15 | 2:05 p.m. | Los Angeles Rams | State Farm Stadium | CBS | |||
| 11 | November 22 | 11:00 a.m. | at Kansas City Chiefs | Arrowhead Stadium | CBS | |||
| 12 | November 29 | 2:25 p.m. | Washington Commanders | State Farm Stadium | Fox | |||
| 13 | December 6 | 2:05 p.m. | Philadelphia Eagles | State Farm Stadium | Fox | |||
| 14 | Bye | |||||||
| 15 | December 20 | 2:05 p.m. | New York Jets | State Farm Stadium | Fox | |||
| 16 | December 27 | 11:00 a.m. | at New Orleans Saints | Caesars Superdome | Fox | |||
| 17 | January 3 | 2:05 p.m. | Las Vegas Raiders | State Farm Stadium | CBS | |||
| 18 | January 9/10 | TBD | San Francisco 49ers | State Farm Stadium | TBD | |||
Notes
- Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
- Networks and times from Weeks 8–17 and dates from Weeks 12–17 are subject to change as a result of flexible scheduling.[7]
- The date, time and network for Week 18 will be finalized at the end of Week 17.[7]
Game summaries
Week 1: at Los Angeles Chargers
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinals | 7 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 26 |
| Chargers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
- Date: September 13
- Game time: 1:25 p.m. MST & PDT
- Game weather: Sunny, 78 °F (26 °C) (fixed roof)
- Game attendance: 70,540
- Referee: Ron Torbert
- TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan, Trent Green and Melanie Collins
- Recap, Game Book
| Game information |
|---|
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
|
With the upset win, the Cardinals secured both their first road win over the Chargers since 2001, and their first overall win since Week 9 of 2025, snapping a nine-game losing streak.
Week 2: vs. Seattle Seahawks
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seahawks | 7 | 0 | 10 | 14 | 31 |
| Cardinals | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
- Date: September 20
- Game time: 1:25 p.m. MST
- Game weather: None (retractable roof closed)
- Game attendance: 63,191
- Referee: Alan Eck
- TV announcers (Fox): Chris Myers, Mark Schlereth and Jen Hale
- Recap, Game Book
| Game information |
|---|
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
|
This marked the Cardinals' 10th consecutive loss to the Seahawks since 2021, their eighth straight at home and seventh against the NFC West.
Week 3: at San Francisco 49ers
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinals | 0 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 30 |
| 49ers | 7 | 10 | 6 | 13 | 36 |
at Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California
- Date: September 27
- Game time: 1:05 p.m. MST & PDT
- Game weather: Sunny, 70 °F (21 °C)
- Game attendance: 70,687
- Referee: Brad Allen
- TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Kugler, Daryl Johnston and Allison Williams
- Recap, Game Book
| Game information |
|---|
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
|
This marked the Cardinals' eighth consecutive divisional loss.
Week 4: at New York Giants
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinals | 14 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| Giants | 3 | 16 | 8 | 9 | 36 |
at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
- Date: October 4
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT/10:00 a.m. MST
- Game weather: Overcast, 63 °F (17 °C)
- Game attendance: 80,893
- Referee: Shawn Smith
- TV announcers (CBS): Spero Dedes, Adam Archuleta and Aditi Kinkhabwala
- Recap, Game Book
| Game information |
|---|
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
|
Week 5: vs. Detroit Lions
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 0 | 24 | 14 | 7 | 45 |
| Cardinals | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
| Game information |
|---|
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
|
Week 6: at Los Angeles Rams
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinals | 3 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 18 |
| Rams | 3 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 16 |
at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
- Date: October 18
- Game time: 1:05 p.m. MST & PDT
- Game weather: Sunny, 86 °F (30 °C) (fixed roof)
- Game attendance: 72,573
- Referee: Clay Martin
- TV announcers (Fox): Kenny Albert, Greg Olsen, and Pam Oliver
- Recap, Game Book
| Game information |
|---|
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
|
With their first win over Los Angeles since 2024, the Cardinals snap both their 4 game losing streak and 8 game divisional losing streak.
Week 7: vs. Denver Broncos
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broncos | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
- Date: October 25
- Game time: 1:05 p.m. MST
- Game weather: TBD (retractable roof stadium)
- TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan, Trent Green and Melanie Collins
- Preview
Standings
Division
| NFC West | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| San Francisco 49ers | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 154 | 93 | W5 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 3 | 3 | 0 | .500 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 148 | 122 | L2 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 2 | 4 | 0 | .333 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 126 | 178 | W1 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 2 | 4 | 0 | .333 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 135 | 138 | L2 |
Conference
| Seed | Team | Division | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | SOS | SOV | STK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division leaders | |||||||||||
| 1[a] | San Francisco 49ers | West | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 3–0 | 3–0 | .379 | .379 | W5 |
| 2[a] | Minnesota Vikings | North | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2–0 | 4–0 | .379 | .379 | W5 |
| 3 | Carolina Panthers | South | 3 | 2 | 0 | .600 | 1–0 | 3–1 | .517 | .412 | W2 |
| 4 | New York Giants | East | 3 | 2 | 1 | .583 | 1–0–1 | 2–2–1 | .300 | .278 | L1 |
| Wild cards | |||||||||||
| 5[b] | Green Bay Packers | North | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | 1–1 | 3–2 | .457 | .375 | W3 |
| 6[b] | Chicago Bears | North | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | 0–2 | 3–2 | .529 | .391 | W3 |
| 7 | Detroit Lions | North | 3 | 2 | 0 | .600 | 0–0 | 2–1 | .483 | .333 | W1 |
| In the hunt | |||||||||||
| 8 | Seattle Seahawks | West | 3 | 3 | 0 | .500 | 1–1 | 1–2 | .485 | .333 | L2 |
| 9[c][d] | Atlanta Falcons | South | 2 | 4 | 0 | .333 | 1–1 | 2–2 | .600 | .500 | L2 |
| 10[d][e][f] | New Orleans Saints | South | 2 | 4 | 0 | .333 | 0–1 | 1–3 | .603 | .625 | W1 |
| 11[c][e][f][g] | Philadelphia Eagles | East | 2 | 4 | 0 | .333 | 1–0 | 1–3 | .456 | .227 | L4 |
| 12[g][h] | Dallas Cowboys | East | 2 | 4 | 0 | .333 | 1–1 | 1–3 | .457 | .318 | L2 |
| 13[c][e][h][i] | Arizona Cardinals | West | 2 | 4 | 0 | .333 | 1–2 | 1–4 | .485 | .167 | W1 |
| 14[i] | Los Angeles Rams | West | 2 | 4 | 0 | .333 | 0–2 | 2–2 | .614 | .458 | L1 |
| 15 | Washington Commanders | East | 1 | 3 | 1 | .300 | 0–2–1 | 1–2–1 | .417 | .500 | T1 |
| 16 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | South | 1 | 5 | 0 | .167 | 0–0 | 1–2 | .647 | .333 | L1 |
Notes
- San Francisco wins tie break over Minnesota based on points.
- Green Bay wins tie break over Chicago based on head-to-head victory.
- Atlanta wins tie break over Philadelphia and Arizona based on conference record. Division tie breaks were initially used to eliminate New Orleans, Dallas and LA Rams (see below).
- Atlanta wins tie break over New Orleans based on head-to-head victory.
- New Orleans and Philadelphia win tie break over Arizona based on conference record. Division tie breaks were initially used to eliminate Dallas and LA Rams (see below).
- New Orleans wins tie break over Philadelphia based on strength of victory.
- Philadelphia wins tie break over Dallas based on division record.
- Dallas wins tie break over Arizona based on conference record. Division tie break was initially used to eliminate LA Rams (see below).
- Arizona wins tie break over LA Rams based on head-to-head victory.