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          Arizona Cardinals' 2022 schedule: Tough start made worse without Deandre Hopkins

          • Josh Weinfuss, ESPN Staff WriterMay 13, 2022, 12:21 AM
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              Josh Weinfuss is a staff writer who covers the Arizona Cardinals and the NFL at ESPN. Josh has covered the Cardinals since 2012, joining ESPN in 2013. He is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and a graduate of Indiana University. You can follow him via Twitter @joshweinfuss.
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          TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Cardinals' 2022 schedule was released along with the rest of the NFL slate Thursday.

          The 2022 NFL season will kick off on Thursday, Sept. 8 with the Buffalo Bills against the defending champion Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. ESPN opens its schedule with Monday Night Football on Sept. 12 featuring the Denver Broncos at the Seattle Seahawks.

          The final regular-season games for the 2022 season will be played Jan. 8, 2023. The playoffs begin Jan. 14 and continue through Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12 in Glendale, Arizona.

          Here's what's in store for the Cardinals:

          Schedule

          Sept. 11: vs. Kansas City

          Sept. 18: at Las Vegas

          Sept. 25: vs. L.A. Rams

          Oct. 2: at Carolina

          Oct. 9: vs. Philadelphia

          Oct. 16: at Seattle

          Oct. 20: vs. New Orleans (TNF)

          Oct. 30: at Minnesota

          Nov. 6: vs. Seattle

          Nov. 13: at L.A. Rams

          Nov. 21: vs. San Francisco (MNF in Mexico City)

          Nov. 27: vs. L.A. Chargers

          Dec. 4: Bye

          Dec. 12: vs. New England (MNF)

          Dec. 18: at Denver

          Dec. 25: vs. Tampa Bay (SNF)

          Jan. 1: at Atlanta

          Jan. 8: at San Francisco

          Strength of schedule: 2nd, .543

          Cardinals | Tickets

          Biggest takeaway

          The Cardinals' first six games, which will be played without wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, will be a gauntlet. How they get through them will decide what kind of the season Arizona has. In the last two seasons, the Cardinals' start saved them after the late-season collapses. With games against the Chiefs, Raiders and Rams to start, Arizona won't be able to catch its breath until Week 4 in Carolina. There's a very real possibility the Cardinals only win a game or two by the time Hopkins returns.

          Revenge game

          Week 3 against the Rams will be the Cardinals chance to show Los Angeles that they're not as bad as the wild-card game last season suggests. That may be easier said than done without Hopkins.

          What the oddsmakers think

          The oddsmakers have the Cardinals' win total at nine. They'll need to have a strong start without Hopkins to reach that number. Their season is full of tough stretches and with a history of late-season collapses, reaching nine wins may be a stretch.

          Bold prediction

          A year after the Cardinals won 11 games and went to the playoffs, they won't win more than seven and will miss the playoffs.