Week 1 Staff Predictions: Arizona Cardinals vs New Orleans Saints

ARIZONA -- Time for Arizona Cardinals football is nearly here.

The New Orleans Saints play host to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1 to officially begin regular season festivities, and to no surprise, the Cardinals are favorites entering the Big Easy.

Arizona is widely considered to have a better roster from top to bottom with a more experienced coaching staff - though as we've seen numerous times - the very beginning of an NFL season is full of surprises.

Is there an upset brewing in the Superdome?

Staff Predictions: Do Cardinals Open 2025 With Win vs Saints?

Arizona Cardinals HC Jonathan Ganno — Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon high-fives edge rusher Xavier Thomas (54) during a preseason game against the Raiders at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Aug. 23, 2025. | Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Donnie Druin (@DonnieDruin) - AZ 23, NO 13

This might not be the prettiest game considering it’s Week 1 and anything can happen, but make no mistake about it - the Cardinals should walk out of New Orleans with a win. They’re simply the better team on both sides of the football and are further ahead of where the Saints are at in terms of progress. Many are expecting a blowout, and while that could very well happen, I think the Cardinals will cover the spread without breaking the scoreboard.

Sam Dehring (@sam_dehring68) AZ 24, NO 10

This is a perfect opportunity for the Cardinals to really get the ball rolling against the team they have no excuses to lose against. I don’t anticipate this being an overly high scoring game. But, it does have the opportunity to get ugly quick. I don’t necessarily think that will be the case. But, I think this is a perfect opportunity to really start things off on a high note in Week 1.

Alex D’Agostino (@AlexDagAZ) - AZ 20, NO 17

There will be some overreactions to this game, but I’m not ready to predict an upset. Arizona’s defense needs time to gel, and there is a real danger they’ll play down to their competition, but it probably isn’t enough for New Orleans. A strong offensive showing would be a much-needed encouragement, but I don’t have reason to believe they’ll find a more explosive edge against a defensive Saints team, as weak as New Orleans may be.

Kyler Burd (@AZCard_BurdsEye) - AZ 24, NO 9

Yup, you read that score right. I think there are few worlds in which the Arizona Cardinals do not win this game, but a little goof-up like giving up a safety feels par for the course. Many fans are expecting something akin to the 2021 Week One beatdown of the Tennessee Titans and while I don’t think this game will quite reach that level, I do expect for this to be a fairly comfortable win.

The Cardinals are the superior team on paper and are under a great deal of pressure to start the season with a decisive win. I’m not sure 24-9 necessarily fits that bill but a win is a win and since it is reasonable to expect a few weeks of lag for this new defense to truly gel, any type of win should be celebrated.

Colin McMahon (@ColinMcMahon31) - AZ 24, NO 14

I hesitate to call this game a “must-win” for the Cardinals, but it’s not crazy to say that if Arizona wants to win the NFC West, it needs to take care of business against inferior opponents. I’d classify the New Orleans Saints as an inferior team, as they’re projected to be among the NFL’s worst teams in 2025. With a quarterback situation that’s certainly less than favorable, Arizona’s defense shouldn’t have too much trouble, but that doesn’t mean overlooking the Saints’ offense.

Alvin Kamara is still at an elite level, while Chris Olave and Raheed Shaheed are looking for breakout seasons. Chase Young and Kool-Aid McKinstry are names to know on the New Orleans defense, but again it’s not a stellar unit. I expect Kyler Murray and the offense to have a field day early on, especially with James Conner and Trey Benson running the ball. Give me Arizona leading 17-0 at the half with a late surge by the Saints in garbage time, but in the end the Cardinals will begin the season 1-0.

Richie Bradshaw (@RichieBradz36) - AZ 27 NO 24

The Cardinals are the better team across the board than the Saints, and it should (in theory) be an easy win. Starting the season on the road is never ideal, but the Cardinals did score 28+ points in eight of their games last season -- six of which were wins. Not much change came for the offense either, so a unit that put up points last season should be able to do so again. The Saints' defense was 19th in points per game in 2024, but they're no better (at best) this year. Its offense was 24th in ppg, and it got worse despite a fresh face at head coach.

I like the Cardinals to come into this game and put up points, but I have a feeling the defense will need some time to gel with so many new faces contributing. It could lead to more scoring than the Cardinals would like, but I think this feels like a bigger win than the box score may show.