Coming off an underwhelming 2016 season and a rough offseason, the Arizona Cardinals will head into the 2017 regular season with major question marks.Following a resurgent 2015, Carson Palmer showed his age last year. The 37-year-old threw for 4,233 yards, 26 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.Despite David Johnson emerging as an All-Pro running back, the Cardinals ranked 21st in offensive efficiency, down from fourth in 2015, per Football Outsiders.Having to rely on Palmer once again wouldn't be as big of a concern if Arizona had been able to lock down its key free agents in the spring. Instead, Tony Jefferson, D.J. Swearinger and Calais Campbell all left, and beyond the arrival ofAntoine Bethea, the Cardinals weren't able to fully replace their experience and production.Unless Palmer reverts to his 2015 self, Arizona could be looking at a second straight year without the playoffs.ScheduleAnalysisThe NFC West got the luck of the draw in that it's matched up with the AFC Souththe weakest of the conference's four divisionsin 2017.Campbell will return to Arizona as a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jags spent big this offseason, bringing in the veteran defensive lineman as well as A.J. Bouye and Barry Church.ESPN.com's Michael DiRocco thinks the Jaguars defense will be a major strength:While Jacksonville should be better, the team invested a lot in free agents with little return in 2015, so expectations will be somewhat tempered.The Cardinals were slightly unfortunate in that they drew the two best teams in the AFC South on the road. Playing the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2and Houston Texans in Week 11won't be gimmes by any stretch, especially with J.J. Watt back on the field for the latter.Staying in the NFC, Arizona will have tricky games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and plays each of the four NFC East teams. The Dallas Cowboys were the top seed in the conference a year ago, and the Philadelphia Eagles will improve after going 7-9 but ranking fourth in overall efficiency, per Football Outsiders.Looking at the schedule, qualifying for the playoffs won't be easy for the Cardinals in 2017, but their slate of games isn't so difficult that the postseason is already out of the question.Pivotal MatchupsThe Cardinals' six division games will be the most important on their schedule, and among those six, their four dates with the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers may be pivotal to their playoff hopes.The Rams and 49ers made coaching changes and generally appear to be headed in the right direction. Both are likely another year or two away from playoff contention, though, whereas Arizona's window to win is right now.The Cardinals can't afford to drop too many of their head-to-head meetings against Los Angeles and San Francisco because they'll then have to make up the wins elsewhere.Assuming Arizona's likeliest road to the postseason is via the wild card, the team's matchups with Tampa Bay and Philadelphia could carry significant implications by season's end. Like the Cardinals, the Buccaneers and Eagles appear to be fighting for second in their division, so they'll be among Arizona's top competition for the NFC's two wild-card berths.
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