Arizona Cardinals schedule includes primetime vs. Chargers on ESPN+
May 15, 2024, 6:44 PM | Updated: May 16, 2024, 3:46 pm
The Arizona Cardinals are back on the primetime NFL schedule after not playing a game outside of Sunday mornings and afternoons in 2023.
A Week 7 home matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers takes place on Oct. 21 for Monday Night Football. It is the first time Arizona is playing on Monday night since a 2022 Week 14 loss to the New England Patriots.
The appearance does come with a wrinkle.
Of the 21 Monday games announced thus far, Arizona’s is the only one that will not be on ESPN or ABC. Instead, it can be viewed on ESPN+, ESPN’s streaming service behind a paywall. This continues the league’s trend of putting games beyond cable television, with recent additions on Amazon Prime Video and Peacock.
The Cardinals are a part of one of the NFL’s four double-headers on Monday, although that’s not quite a fair label given the four pairs of games take place within 45 minutes of one another. In the other three weeks, one of those games goes on ABC and the other to ESPN. It appears that ABC did not deem Cardinals-Chargers or a matchup of the Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers worthy of Monday night programming. The latter will be on ESPN.
If the Cardinals surprise a few folks and get off to a great start to the season, there is a chance they could be flexed in for another primetime offering.
How does NFL primetime flex scheduling work?
Per the NFL, Sunday Night Football can have this done twice between Weeks 5-10 and then there are no restrictions for Week 11 on. Ditto for Monday Night Football in Week 12, while Thursday Night Football can trigger a a pair of redo’s from Week 13 on. Week 18, the final of the regular season, does not have games assigned anyway.
The flexed games must be originally scheduled on Sunday afternoon (or with a TBD listing).
Are there any games for Arizona in the back-half of the schedule that could have a shot? We know the New York Jets and Aaron Rodgers bring national attention in Week 10. From there, the allure is lacking, but ending the season with divisional matchups against the Los Angeles Rams (Week 17) and San Francisco 49ers (Week 18) could bring playoff implications that make the cut.
How can I watch ESPN+?
The ESPN+ subscription service is available online through several applications you can watch on your phone, television, video game console or computer. As of the schedule release, a monthly plan will cost you $10.99 and there are no free trials. More information can be found here on the ESPN+ website.
