The New Orleans Saints will host the Arizona Cardinals in Week 16 on December 27, 2026 at Noon CT. on FOX. The Saints host Arizona in the Caesars Superdome for the second consecutive season and will look to get revenge after the team opened the 2025 season against the Cardinals in a down-to-the-wire 20-13 Saints defeat.
Let's take a deeper look at the Saints' Week 16 opponent, the Arizona Cardinals:
2026 NFL WEEK 16: NEW ORLEANS SAINTS vs. ARIZONA CARDINALS
Meet your Saints opponent: Arizona Cardinals
Coach: Mike LaFleur
Quarterback: Jacoby Brissett
2025 record: 3-14, fourth in NFC West
Most recent regular season matchup: Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025 - Cardinals 20, Saints 13
Cardinals-Saints series record: Cardinals lead 17-16 (including one postseason game)
Arizona Cardinals 2025 season recap:
The Cardinals opened the season 2-0 in 2025, but would fall on a five game losing streak to drop to 2-5 heading into their bye in Week 8. They also lost quarterback Kyler Murray to an injury in Week 5 and he would not return for the remainder of the season. Arizona came out of the bye with a victory over the Dallas Cowboys, but would lose nine straight to end the season with a 3-14 record, fourth in the NFC West and tied for the worst record in the NFL.
| 2025 Cardinals Per Game Stats | League Ranking | |
|---|---|---|
| Scoring Avg. | 20.9 | 23 |
| Opp. Scoring Avg. | 28.7 | 29 |
| Total Off. | 325.8 | 19 |
| Rushing Off. | 93.1 | 31 |
| Passing Off. | 232.6 | 7 |
| Total Def. | 357.7 | 27 |
| Rushing Def. | 126.9 | 25 |
| Passing Def. | 230.8 | 24 |
Deep Dive: Arizona Cardinals roster review
1. Added Notre Dame star Jeremiyah Love in 2026 NFL Draft
With the third overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Cardinals selected Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, making him the highest drafted running back since Saquon Barkley was selected second overall in 2018. Love finished his junior season as a Heisman finalist, unanimous First-Team All-American and Doak Walker Award winner honoring the nation's top running back. He started all 12 games for Notre Dame and led the team with 1,372 rushing yards on 199 carries as well as adding 280 receiving yards. His 21 total touchdowns broke the Notre Dame record. Love did not set any lower standards for himself for his NFL career.
"I want to be a Hall of Famer by the end of my time playing," Love said at his introductory press conference. "I want to be one of the greatest, one of the best to come through the game. I'm always on a hunt for something greater."
2. Mike LaFleur takes the helm for Cardinals
The Cardinals made Mike LaFleur the newest head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Another coach from the Sean McVay/Kyle Shanahan coaching tree, LaFleur was most recently serving as the Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator under McVay for the last three seasons. In his three years with the Rams, the Los Angeles offense was fifth in passing yards, first downs and touchdowns, sixth in yards and points per game and eighth in red-zone efficiency.
LaFleur, 39 years old, is the younger brother of Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. LaFluer takes over the Cardinals off a 3-14 season where Arizona tied for the worst record in the league.
"Every year is a blank slate," LaFleur said at his introductory press conference. "I'm not worried about what our record was. The record last year, all that means is we have a higher draft pick. That's all that really matters at that point. We have to go to work to build this roster. Even if we were flipped and it was 14-3, guess what? You go right back to work."
3. New look in quarterback room
Seven-year starter Kyler Murray departed the Arizona Cardinals for the Minnesota Vikings in free agency so the Cardinals will have a new look in the quarterback room in 2025. Returning from 2025 and the presumptive favorite to take on the starting role for this season is Jacoby Brissett. Brissett filled in after Murray went out due to injury and started 12 games in 2025 and set career highs after completing 315 of 485 attempts (64.9%) for 3,366 yards and 23 touchdowns to eight interceptions. He also added 168 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Despite a strong statistical output, Arizona could not translate Brissett's play to victories as the team went 1-11 in his starts.
The team also signed veteran Gardner Minshew who most recently was a backup with the Kansas City Chiefs and has 47 career starts to his name. In the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, the Cardinals selected Miami Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck with the 65th overall pick. In his lone season with Miami in 2025, Beck led the Hurricanes to an appearance in the National Championship Game, completing 338 of his 467 pass attempts (72.4%) for 3,813 yards and 30 touchdowns while also adding a pair of rushing touchdowns.
