Bidwill: Primetime-lacking schedule no problem for underdog Cardinals

If the Arizona Cardinals didn’t understand the outside perception of their revamped 2018 team, they need to look no further than the schedule the NFL rolled out Thursday evening.

It features a single, required primetime game — a Thursday home matchup with the Denver Broncos in Week 7.

Cardinals president Michael Bidwill probably understands the implications. Many don’t expect Arizona to be priority watching.

That doesn’t bother him.

“I think one of the things is with the flex schedule, we get a chance to play in to it, and so it’s not determined what our schedule really is yet,” Bidwill said Friday visiting Bickley & Marotta on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station. 

“We got a lot of confidence in what we’re doing. Listen to all the hype but you know, I like this schedule. It’s got good balance. We’ve got three out of the first four at home, some good divisional games early and some chances to show what we’re made of.”

Bidwill remains confident Arizona can earn primetime games because the NFL allows wiggle-room for the Cardinals to fight for those slots.

“We still have a great defense, we got David Johnson coming back,” the Cardinals president said. “People are underestimating us. I think that’s a good thing. I like this underdog position that we’re in and I know the coaches like the routine of a Sunday afternoon game throughout the schedule.”

From Week 5 on, the Sunday Night Football matchups are tentative, though they come with quite a few limitations, per the NFL:

• Up to 2 games may be flexed into Sunday Night between Weeks 5-10

• Only Sunday afternoon games are subject to being moved into the Sunday night window.

• The game that has been tentatively scheduled for Sunday night during flex weeks will be listed at 8:15 p.m. ET.

• The majority of games on Sundays will be listed at 1:00 p.m. ET during flex weeks except for games played in Pacific or Mountain Time zones, which will be listed at 4:05 or 4:15 p.m. ET.

• No impact on Thursday, Saturday or Monday night games.

• The NFL will decide (after consultation with CBS, FOX, NBC) and announce as early as possible the game being played at 8:15 p.m. ET. The announcement will come no later than 12 days prior to the game. The NFL may also announce games moving to 4:05 p.m. ET and 4:25 p.m. ET.

• Week 17 start time changes could be decided on 6 days notice to ensure a game with playoff implications.

• The NBC Sunday night time slot in “flex” weeks will list the game that has been tentatively scheduled for Sunday night.

• Fans and ticket holders must be aware that NFL games in flex weeks are subject to change 12 days in advance (6 days in Week 17) and should plan accordingly.

• NFL schedules all games.

• Teams will be informed as soon as they are no longer under consideration or eligible for a move to Sunday night.

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