When the Arizona Cardinals unveiled their 2026 schedule, the absence of prime-time games was hard to miss.

For only the second time in the last 15 seasons, the Cardinals have zero prime-time matchups on their slate. The last time this happened was in 2023, when the team entered Jonathan Gannon's first season with similarly low expectations.

Now, it's Mike LaFleur's debut season, and oddsmakers have pegged Arizona as the NFL's worst team. Their current Super Bowl odds sit at 400/1—three times longer than any other NFC squad.

With limited national appeal, the Cardinals will play every game on Sunday afternoons. This comes despite the league's largest-ever slate of standalone games, including a new Wednesday Night Football season-opener, a Thanksgiving Eve contest, and nine international matchups.

For a team in transition, the lack of prime-time exposure may sting, but it also means fewer late nights for fans in the desert. As the Cardinals rebuild under LaFleur, they'll have plenty of time to prove the doubters wrong—just not under the bright lights of national television.